Strictly Come Dancing star Neil Jones has credited Prince Harry with making his life easier.
It appears dancer Neil – who wasn’t partnered with a celebrity for the 2020 series of the BBC dance show – has found an unlikely ally in the flame-haired prince.
And what links them, we hear you ask?
Well, their ginger hair, Neil told Entertainment Daily in an exclusive interview.
What did Strictly star Neil Jones say about Prince Harry?
Opening up about his trademark red hair, Strictly star Neil revealed he’s “used to the negativity” that comes with the colourings he shares with the one-time party prince.
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“I’m ginger, through life you get bullied,” he said.
“But somehow gingers, maybe from Prince Harry, are a little bit more popular at the moment.
“People are liking us at the moment so it’s not as bad,” he added.
Trolling is ‘one of those things’
Neil also opened up about the impact negative comments on social media have had on him recently.
The dancer hit the headlines after his split from girlfriend Luisa Eusse before Christmas.
“It’s one of these things, it’s hard. I think for anyone to turn around and say it doesn’t affect you, personally I would say that’s most likely not true because it does.
Read more: Prince Harry has grown his hair and has a ponytail
“You could read 100 amazing comments then you could have one comment that’s negative and that one negative comment could stay in your head.
“I try to stay positive. I have a small group of incredible friends that I talk to all the time – they know who I am, I know who I am and that’s all I care about. It doesn’t matter what anyone else says.
“I also think maybe they’re having a bad day and that’s why they’re saying these things and I actually feel sorry for them,” he added.
Trolling of Alex Scott is ‘ongoing’
Neil revealed that his last celebrity Strictly partner Alex Scott – who is in the frame to take over from Sue Barker on A Question of Sport – is now subjected to “ongoing” trolling.
He said: “With Alex it’s ongoing.
“She’s a talented woman who knows what she’s doing so there’s always going to be people out there that don’t like that.
“They don’t like change, they don’t like anything different.”
He added of his life-long pal: “I’m always so happy for her and so proud because she sends out a positivity and an energy that everything is possible. Even for me dancing with her, she was an inspiration to me as well.”
Spreading lockdown joy on a new challenge app
Keen to spread a little bit of lockdown joy, Neil has signed up to appear on new social video platform Compete.
The challenge-based app has been described as “TikTok for competitions” by early users.
And, through the app, Neil has set a dance challenge – and the winners, who are voted for by other app users, land a cash sum.
The best thing about the app though is it’s completely free of negativity.
“The interaction is basically people just voting. Someone can put on a challenge and then everybody can give it a go,” Neil said.
“There’s a social side there, people are trying something different, but they don’t have to worry about someone turning around and saying: ‘You’re not good enough.'”
Check out Neil’s Compete dance challenge here. He is also offering free daily dance classes at 10am on his Instagram @mr_neiljonesofficial during lockdown. His Tall Blonde & Ginger podcast is out every Friday on Acast, iTunes and Spotify.
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