Strictly Come Dancing star Lewis Cope sparked a row over fairness after his extensive dance experience was revealed during the show's launch on Saturday. The Emmerdale actor, 30, is among the early favorites to lift the Glitterball trophy, with bookmakers listing him at 3/1; Dani Dyer, 29, follows at 4/1. Viewers quickly took to social media to question whether his past training could give him an edge as the celebrity-pro pairings were announced.
During a pre-recorded segment, Cope disclosed he had been dancing since the age of 10 and even landed a West End role in Billy Elliot at 11, saying his brothers were boxing while he focused on dance. He also revealed a lengthy background with Ruff Diamond, an elite street dance crew he spent eight years with, which competed on Sky TV’s Got to Dance and performed for Children in Need and with the EastEnders cast. The group represented the UK at the 2013 World Hip Hop Dance Championships in Las Vegas. Cope left Ruff Diamond in 2015 to study acting at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, a path that eventually led him to Emmerdale in 2022 as Nicky Miligan. He bid farewell to the Dales in July 2024 when his character left the village with his on-screen partner, Suni Sharma.
Reaction among fans on X, formerly Twitter, included a flurry of posts questioning whether Cope’s training would secure him an early win. One user wrote: I need Lewis to stop pretending he’s not a trained dancer; another commented: Just give Lewis the trophy now. Others suggested his theatre background could translate into an intuitive sense of rhythm and performance, fueling a debate about how much past experience should factor into a reality competition.
Cope’s casting comes as Strictly’s 2025 lineup is revealed. The list includes Olympic sprinter Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, Doctor Who star Alex Kingston, EastEnders actress Balvinder Sopal, drag performer La Voix, reality TV figure Thomas Skinner, and other notable names such as Vicky Pattison, Karen Carney, and Dani Dyer. The show, which marks its return to BBC One, is scheduled to begin live episodes later this month.
Industry observers note that the launch episode sets the tone for the season, with early frontrunners often shaping public perception as weeks of rehearsals unfold. The BBC did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Daily Mail.
Cope joined Emmerdale in 2022 as Nicky Miligan and briefly left the show in 2024 when his character departed with Suni Sharma. His transition from stage and screen to prime-time ballroom has drawn renewed attention to the show’s balance between performance heritage and celebrity novelty, a topic that tends to surface each season as fans weigh dancing credentials against on-screen charisma.