Strictly's Neil Jones reveals he used to be homeless — but it made his dance career success

Virgin Radio

11 Jan 2023, 15:52

Strictly Come Dancing fans have been left with their heads spinning after dancing favourite Neil Jones has opened up about being homeless and living on the streets after leaving home to train as a dancer — but it spurred him on to become a champion.

At the top of his game now, the professional dancer, who joined Strictly in 2016 with his former wife Katya Jones, told homeless charity Centrepoint: "My breaking point was when I was about 16-years-old, I'd moved to Finland to train as a dancer and I found myself homeless.

"I didn't want to tell anyone, I didn't want anyone to know about it, my friends didn't know about it.

"I tried to make it work in order to turn up to training. And I found myself actually sleeping just outside of where I was rehearsing and then I'd get changed and take a shower there so that no one would ever know.

"Even my own mum didn't know until two years when I started talking about it so that was quite a low point in my life."

He went on: "My breakthrough moment was when a homeless organisation offered me safe accommodation and got me off the streets so I could focus on my dancing...

"I decided to make the decision to come home, back to the UK, started training and moved then to Holland where I was for about eight years.

"And I progressed and I worked really hard until in the end I became a world champion.

"I feel like the low time in my life was what pushed me and drove me to actually make everything happen."

He told followers: "I shared #MyBreakthrough story of overcoming homelessness with @centrepointuk to highlight how - with a little bit of help - people like me can overcome the challenges of their past to find happiness and success.

"Check out their grid for my full story and give them a follow to help end youth homelessness, for people just like me."

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