'STRICTLY' CO-STARS SHARE IN THE EXCITEMENT NEIL JONES AND CHYNA MILLS DISCOVERING THEY ARE EXPECTING A GIRL IS THE ICING ON THE CAKE AFTER WHIRLWIND ROMANCE

'My outlook on life has changed; it's not just about me - I need to take care of two people'

- SALLY MORGAN

Surrounded by his Strictly Come Dancing co-stars, dancer Neil Jones was brimming with anticipation on stage live at the London Palladium. But not because he was about to perform another show on their UK tour, Strictly Come Dancing: The Professionals.

The former British, European and world champion and his fiancée, model Chyna Mills, who announced their pregnancy news and surprise engagement in hello! in April, were about to share with us another exclusive revelation: the gender of their unborn child.

After cutting into the special cake that would reveal all with the colour of its filling, Neil triumphantly lifted a portion of the four-layered confection to reveal a bright-pink sponge.

There were whoops, cheers and cries of: “It’s a girl!” as his Strict ly friends – Dianne Buswell, Gorka Márquez, Vito Coppola, Carlos Gu, Karen Hauer, Nikita Kuzmin, Luba Mushtuk, Nancy Xu and Jowita Przystal – jumped up and down in excitement.

GUESSING GAME

“They were as thrilled as us to find out,” says 41-year-old Neil in this exclusive interview and photoshoot with hello! . “They’d been trying to guess for ages if we were expecting a girl or a boy and for this shoot the girls wore pink or blue eyeshadow, depending on what they thought.

“When we found out, Dianne was l ike: ‘ Your daughter will have so many [Strictly] aunties now.’

“We’re so happy and I can’t wait to be a dad.”