Lewis Cope's dance background sparks debate on fairness in Strictly Come Dancing

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1. https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/tv/news/strictly-come-dancing-lewis-cope-katya-text-message-b2837559.html - Please view link - unable to able to access data
2. https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/tv/news/strictly-come-dancing-lewis-cope-katya-text-message-b2837559.html - Strictly professional Katya Jones has revealed the message that Lewis Cope sent her on the morning of his TV dancing debut. Cope, best known for his role as Nicky Milligan on Emmerdale, is one of the 15 celebrities taking to the dancefloor for the latest season of BBC’s flagship programme. The actor, 30, and Jones wowed the judges with their moves during the first live show of the series last week, dancing the Jive to “Get Ready” by The Temptations. Appearing on Strictly’s companion show It Takes Two on Wednesday (1 October), the duo reflected on their performance and the glowing feedback they received from the judges. Jones, 36, told host Janette Manrara that Cope had been so excited about making his dancing debut that he had texted her at 4.29am: “Why does it feel like Christmas morning?” Manrara agreed with the sentiment, responding that he’s in the “right ballpark” since Strictly takes place in the lead-up to the festive season. Cope’s moves on Saturday (27 September) won over the judging panel, including the notoriously hard to impress Craig Revel Horwood who told him: “Very good – darling!” Their success on the dancefloor landed them in joint first place on the leaderboard alongside Amber Davies and Nikita Kuzmin, and Karen Carney and Carlos Gu. This weekend, the pair will be dancing the Viennese Waltz to Teddy Swims’s hit song “Lose Control”. Cope became the early hero of this year’s series when he was brought in to replace Game of Thrones star Kristian Nairn who was forced to withdraw from the competition on medical grounds. The actor, who made his stage debut at just 11 years old, playing Michael in the West End hit Billy Elliot: The Musical, had been walking down Oxford Street when he received the phone call to say he would be part of the show. Also drafted in at the last minute was Amber Davies, who replaced fellow ex-Love Island star Dani Dyer after she fractured her ankle. Davies’s involvement has been the subject of some controversy given her extensive experience in musical theatre. Earlier this week, the wife of Strictly contestant Chris Robshaw expressed disapproval of the show’s more experienced competitors. Rugby player Robshaw found himself near the bottom of the leaderboard after the first live show. Robshaw’s wife Camilla Kerslake agreed with Love Island star Amber Gill’s social media complaint about the “unfair” gap in experience among the show’s competitors. The classical crossover singer wrote: “The experience differences are absolutely wild. Definitely.” Davies recently defended herself from backlash on It Takes Two, stating: “Ballroom and Latin are worlds apart from what I’ve experienced on a West End stage, you know”. She called them completely different techniques. Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday on BBC One at 6.20pm.
3. https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/tv/news/strictly-2025-lewis-cope-replace-b2830674.html - Strictly Come Dancing viewers are making the same prediction about who will win this year’s series. Emmerdale star Lewis Cope, 30, made his debut on the 2025 launch episode on Saturday (21 September) and swiftly embedded himself as a firm favourite. Based on the short amount of dancing he did after being paired with Katya Jones, BBC viewers suggested he might be the future claimant of the show’s Glitterball trophy. The soap star, who plays Nicky Milligan in the ITV series, was also defended by fans after revealing he has previous dance experience in his opening VT, an admission one viewer described as “a cardinal sin”. After some chimed in to complain Cope has an unfair advantage over less experienced contestants, many defended Cope – and predicted he’ll win this year’s show. “Unfortunately I won’t take any Lewis Cope hate,” one viewer wrote, with another writing: “On the basis of that group dance, everyone needs to be VERY afraid of Lewis Cope’s jive next week.” One person concluded: “I’m going to call it now: Lewis Cope will win,” with many others sharing the same sentiment. “Lewis Cope or Dani Dyer will win #StrictlyComeDancing this year,” another viewer said. Cope starred in Billy Elliot on the West End, the musical about a northern boy who trains to become a ballet dancer, playing Elliot’s best friend, Michael. As well as his West End training, the actor performed as part of hip-hop troupe Ruff Diamond as a teenager. The group finished as runners-up on the Sky One dance competition Got to Dance in 2013 and were told by judge Kimberly Wyatt that their initial audition was the best of the series. Cope, who joined Emmerdale in 2022, was a last-minute Strictly contestant after Game of Thrones actor Kristian Nairn quit on medical grounds. Asked how it felt to be joining the series late, Cope said: “I think, if anything, it’s probably helped me because I haven’t really had time to think about it or anything so now the excitement has kind of just taken over. I think it’s probably better for me.”
4. https://www.hellomagazine.com/film/858180/strictly-2025-week-1-songs-and-dances/ - Strictly Come Dancing 2025 has unveiled the songs and dances for its first week, following the last-minute replacement of Dani Dyer by Amber Davies. The lineup includes: Karen Carney and Carlos Gu performing a jive to Blondie's 'One Way or Another'; La Voix and Aljaz Skorjanec dancing an American smooth to Chappel Roan's 'Pink Pony Club'; Lewis Cope and Katya Jones performing a jive to The Temptations' 'Get Ready'; Ross King and Jowita Przystal dancing a foxtrot to the 'Neighbours' theme song; and Thomas Skinner and Amy Dowden performing a paso doble to Tomoyasu Hotei's 'Battle Without Honor or Humanity'.
5. https://www.thefreelibrary.com/BBC%2BStrictly%2BCome%2BDancing%2Bfans%2Bmake%2Bprediction%2Bafter%2BLewis%2BCope...-a0857412112 - Actor Lewis Cope and his professional partner, Katya Jones, delivered a high-energy performance that impressed viewers and judges alike. After their routine, Cope addressed the camera to deliver a personal message to his hometown of Hartlepool, expressing gratitude and love to his supporters. Viewers praised Cope as a contestant to watch, with one commenting, "Lewis Cope is definitely gonna be one of the ones to watch! If he can sort out his legwork and his occasional spatula hand, he can go far!"
6. https://www.entertainmentdaily.com/tv/strictly-lewis-cope-katya-jones-leaderboard/ - Fans of Strictly Come Dancing were divided after contestant Lewis Cope topped the leaderboard. The former Emmerdale star, 30, is competing with partner Katya Jones, 36. During their first dance of the series, the pair performed a jive to The Temptations' 'Get Ready'. The energetic performance earned them seven's across the board from the judges, placing them at the top of the leaderboard with a score of 28. Viewers expressed mixed reactions, with some feeling it was "unfair" due to Cope's previous dance experience, including his role in the West End production of Billy Elliot and as a runner-up on 'Got to Dance'.
7. https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/tv/news/strictly-come-dancing-lewis-cope-emmerdale-age-b2834873.html - Actor Lewis Cope became the early hero of this year’s Strictly Come Dancing series when he was brought in to replace Game of Thrones star Kristian Nairn, after he was forced to withdraw from the competition on medical grounds. The 30-year-old Emmerdale star, who plays Nicky Milligan, said he was walking down Oxford Street on his way to meet a friend when he received the phone call saying he’d be part of the show. Asked how it felt to be joining the series late, Cope said: “I think, if anything, it’s probably helped me because I haven’t really had time to think about it or anything so now the excitement has kind of just taken over. I think it’s probably better for me.” Cope added that he’s particularly looking to impress judge Shirley Ballas out of the show’s panel. The actor made his stage debut at just 11 years old, playing Michael in the West End hit Billy Elliot: The Musical. He later told Tresa magazine his experience in the show changed his life. “If I hadn’t have done that show when I was 11, I wouldn’t be an actor now,” he said. “It opened my eyes.” Cope, who was raised in Hartlepool, County Durham, alongside 13 siblings, added: “My grandad was a miner so the story is very close to home.” As well as his West End training, Cope has previous dance experience from his time in the hip-hop troupe Ruff Diamond as a teenager. The group finished as runners-up on the Sky One dance competition Got to Dance in 2013 and were told by judge Kimberly Wyatt that their initial audition was the best of the series. The actor went on to appear in the short films A Six and Two Threes and Waterbabies, before landing minor roles in the 2019 TV adaptation of Jacqueline Wilson’s novel Hetty Feather, the BBC medical drama Doctors and the long-running ITV crime drama Vera. He said of the experience: “Vera is my nana’s favourite show, so this was so special because of her. I learned a lot filming Vera, Brenda Blethyn and Kenny Doughty really looked after me. We filmed around Covid time and they are such lovely people.” Cope joined the Emmerdale cast as Nicky Milligan in 2022. “I feel extremely lucky to be doing what I’m doing,” the actor told Luxe magazine at the time. “I’m just an ordinary lad from a huge family in Hartlepool… It’s very surreal.” His character was initially introduced as a nanny who interviews to look after Gabby Thomas (Rosie Bentham) and Dawn Fletcher’s (Olivia Bromley) children at Home Farm.