Adam Peaty: Strictly star addresses ‘intense’ dance that led to ‘almost-kiss’ with partner Katya Jones
‘It’s all part of the game,’ Olympic athlete said
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Adam Peaty has shed light on the Strictly Come Dancing performance in which viewers felt he “almost kissed” Katya Jones.
The duo performed an Argentine tango for the fourth week of this year’s series and, at the end of the routine, the Olympic athlete appeared to momentarily move his face towards Jones.
This led some to claim it looked as though he intended to kiss her, an idea that gained such momentum on social media that Peaty’s girlfriend, Eiri Munro, shared her own comedic response on TikTok.
Munro posted a video, captioned: “Watching your boyfriend almost kiss another woman on live TV.”
Peaty himself wrote on Twitter: ”To everyone who wants to see what they want, your comments have real-life consequences. I will not be overcome or lowered by your gossip. Protect your energy.”
Now, addressing the performance on Strictly companion show It Takes Two, Peaty told host Rylan Clark: “It was the feel, the character… I got so into the character; it was amazing.”
Clark told Peaty that it was “quite an intense routine for many, many different reasons”, highlighting his leg kicks, with the Olympian responding: “It’s all part of the game. I’m all in. I want to entertain people.”
Strictly viewers have been keeping an eye out for any signs of the “Strictly Curse” rearing its ugly head in the 2021 series of the TV competition.
A number of celebrity contestants taking part on the show have ended up falling for their dance partners, including Matt Di Angelo (with Flavia Cacace), Ricky Whittle (with Natalie Lowe), and Seann Walsh with Jones.
The 2018 incident with Walsh and Jones was the most scandalous to take place in the show’s history, after they were spotted kissing on a night out, despite both parties being in relationships.
Both apologised at the time, with Walsh calling it a “one-off drunken mistake”.
Earlier this year, Walsh reflected on the scandal, saying that it “destroyed” his career and ruined “what life could have been”.
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