Neil Jones has opened up about becoming a father for the first time, revealing that the baby may arrive during a live show of Strictly Come Dancing.
The 40-year-old professional dancer, who is entering his eighth series of the BBC competition, announced in April that he was expecting his first child with Love Island's Chyna Mills, 24.
Speaking to OK! in an exclusive interview, Neil said that he's prepared if Chyna gives birth during Strictly – although he'll be telling her to "hold on as long as she can".
"Chyna wants to give birth now – she's ready to go. We don’t know what’s going to happen but if it happens during a live show, we’re ready for that. It would be nice if it happened in a moment when I had a bit of time off but I'm really excited.
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"I've got so many nieces and nephews already and the good thing is that we've had time to prepare for everything. Strictly is really supportive."
He said that he's ready for the sleepless nights that come with fatherhood – having faced many as a professional dancer.
"People say, 'Are you ready for not sleeping?' And I’m like, 'I’m a dancer, I’m used to it,'" he said. "You could get 10 hours of sleep but you'll have a routine on your mind."
Neil added that it's been a big year for Strictly babies, following the birth of Janette Manrara and Aljaž Škorjanec's daughter Lyra as well as Gorka Marquez's second child Thiago with Gemma Atkinson.
"We’ve had so many new Strictly babies – both Janette Manrara and Gorka Márquez have just had babies. When they’re older, we should do a competition with all the babies!"
Ahead of the new series of Strictly, Neil joined his fellow professional dancers Johannes Radebe, Carlos Gu, Kai Widdrington and Vito Coppola as they spoke about the celebrity line-up.
This year, 15 celebrities will be taking to the dance floor, including Family Fortunes host Les Dennis, Casualty's Nigel Harman, former tennis professional and broadcaster Annabel Croft, EastEnders star Bobby Brazier, former Coronation Street star Ellie Leach and Love Island star Zara McDermott.
They'll be joined by actor Adam Thomas, TV presenter Angela Scanlon and Channel 4 newsreader Krishnan Guru-Murthy among others.
Strictly Come Dancing starts on Saturday 23rd September on BBC One.
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