In the latest series of Strictly Come Dancing, actor Lewis Cope has burst onto our screens with some seriously impressive footwork and a cheeky energy that has made him a real favourite with both viewers and judges. 

He was not even meant to be in the lineup this year, until Kristian Nairn had to withdraw and Lewis received an unexpected phone call that was to send his life in a completely new direction. Within a couple of days of that call, he had met the team, done a run through, and found himself announcing it live on television.

Since then, Lewis has thrown himself into the competition with heart and passion. He has delivered some huge moments already, including a perfect score on Halloween, and built a strong partnership with Katya Jones while learning a completely new style of performance under a level of pressure most of us will never experience.

When we sat down to talk, Lewis opened up about the intensity of the schedule, the shock of performing live every week, and the unexpected ‘next-level joy’ he has found in dancing.

Hi Lewis, how are rehearsals going this morning?

It’s great. The first couple of rehearsal days after a show are always tough because it’s a brand new style, a new routine, new music. There’s a lot to take on, so every week starts the same. You never think you’ll get there in time for Saturday, but somehow it always comes together. You just have to trust the process.

And you’re rehearsing right through the week to get to that Saturday night?

Yeah. We rehearse Monday to Thursday in the studio. On Friday we go to the Strictly studio for costume, a couple of runs on the floor, press and media. Saturday we run it with the live band, do the dress rehearsal, then the show. And then you forget the routine completely and start again the next week.

Amazing. And you came in at the very last minute after Kristian Nairn had to withdraw. What was that like, getting the call and suddenly finding yourself in Strictly?

It was amazing, because there’d been no chat at all about me doing Strictly this year. There’d been conversations about last year, but not this one. Then out of nowhere my agent called me on a Monday evening saying, ‘This is random, but how would you feel about going into a dance studio tomorrow to meet the Strictly team and do a run through with a pro? They need someone ASAP.’

I went in on the Tuesday, by Wednesday they’d offered it to me, and by Thursday I was on national television announcing it.

Wow. And then how quickly did you have to jump into rehearsals?

Pretty quickly. I had a few bits to do for about a week after the announcement. Then, because I’d already booked a holiday, they managed to give me that week off and squeeze everything into it. After that we were straight in. So within about two weeks we were in full rehearsals.

Incredible. It looks so glamorous on TV, but you always hear it’s a brutal rehearsal schedule. What’s been the biggest shock to the system for you?

The sheer amount of effort behind every performance. On screen you think, ‘That was a nice dance,’ but the reality is a full week of hard graft. And not just from us – costume, set design, lighting, hair, makeup, everyone. The Halloween routine is a good example. There’s so much work behind it.

It completely takes over your life. You’re doing twelve hour days most days, six days a week. Sometimes more, because you’ve got training, press, physio, and if you want to go to the gym you have to squeeze that in too.

Do you even need to go to the gym outside of that? You must be burning so many calories during rehearsals.

You burn loads, but you’re not lifting weights, so I like to do a couple of weight sessions a week. Nothing heavy, just something.

You mentioned the Halloween routine. That was amazing. Not just the dancing, but – as you said – the set, the makeup, the effects.

It was. The set, the pyros, everything. It was one of those routines where it all clicked. You cannot rely on effects or looking good alone. All the elements have to work together, and that week they really did.

And it is live, right?

Yeah, completely live.

That’s mad. You have gone from filming dramas to performing live on a Saturday night. How different does it feel?

Much more nerve wracking. With TV, if you get it wrong you go again. On Strictly you have millions watching and no second chances. You have to commit.

You also got a perfect score for that routine. What stands out most when you think back on it?

It was our Couple’s Choice, so we had full freedom. Katya and I try to build a narrative into every routine. For Halloween we tied everything together and it felt like a little piece of theatre.

My clearest memory is the end. I had to run to the piano and get on top of it, and all I was thinking was, ‘do not fall’. I got up there with half a second to spare, smiled to myself, then hit the final pose. It had been a tough week with filming in Hartlepool and hardly any sleep, so that moment felt incredible.

Watching you in that routine, we had our jaws on the floor. And then the tap!

I learned tap when I was eleven in Billy Elliot. I played Michael, Billy’s gay best friend, who has a tap number. That’s where I learned it.

What has Katya brought out in you as a partner and teacher?

She has pushed my work ethic to another level. I had not danced in more than twelve years and never in these styles, so she has been brilliant. She never plays it safe. Every week I think I will never get the routine, and by the end I do. She choreographs right up to my limit. It is hard work, and I prefer it that way.

Sounds like she’s constantly pushing you out of your comfort zone so you can stretch yourself and grow as a performer.

Exactly. She pushes, but with a lot of care and understanding.

She also comes from a dance world with serious discipline.

Totally. She’s danced for 30 years and been world champion multiple times. She knows what it takes to win and to keep pushing.

And what’s your relationship like with her away from the cameras?

She’s great. We don’t really hang out outside of this because the hours are so intense, but she’s a brilliant teacher and we get on really well. When you’re in a studio together for nine hours a day, you have to genuinely like each other. You can’t spend that much time with someone otherwise. She’s a lovely person, and I’d call her a good friend.

That’s lovely. And of course, you have to trust your dance partner completely.

Definitely. Your dance partner is the most important part of your Strictly experience, because you spend almost all your time with them. For four days a week it’s just the two of us in a studio getting the routine together. Well, she gets the routine together and I try to keep up. So it’s crucial that you understand each other and know how the other works.

Has there been a particular dance that’s really tested you, either technically or emotionally?

Last week, definitely. The Cha Cha was the hardest week I’ve had so far on Strictly. It actually went really well in the end and I finished high on the leaderboard, but the week itself was brutal. I felt like I couldn’t dance, couldn’t move, couldn’t pick anything up. It was so alien to me. I’d never moved like that in my life.

With some dances you can borrow bits of technique from other styles, but with the Cha Cha I had nothing. Zero crossover. I was starting completely from scratch with no understanding of the movement. That made it the toughest week by far.

And on the flip side, is there a dance you took to more naturally, one that was just a joy to rehearse and perform?

I wouldn’t say I’ve taken to any of them straight away, because I’m not a dancer, so everything has been graft. But the Halloween Couple’s Choice was different. Because it wasn’t Latin or ballroom, I could be a bit freer. I could lean into the character and the storytelling, and I got a massive amount of enjoyment out of that.

I thought that watching it. You looked really cheeky, like you weren’t supposed to be there.

Yeah, exactly. That was the vibe. For me the key is always trying to create a narrative and let the dance follow that.

There’s been a bit of chat online about your past dance background, with Billy Elliot and Got to Dance, and whether that gives you an edge. How do you feel about that?

Billy Elliot was almost twenty years ago. I was eleven. And I wasn’t good enough to play Billy, so I played Michael. He does one tap number in the show. That definitely doesn’t translate into ballroom and Latin two decades later.

After that I mainly did hip hop. I was with a street dance crew for a couple of years when we did Got to Dance. That was six lads doing popping, locking, breaking, that sort of thing. Katya actually said she thinks it’s been more of a hindrance because that movement is the total opposite of something like a foxtrot or a Viennese waltz. They’re worlds apart.

Being an actor helps with performance, of course, but everyone in the competition has their own thing that helps them. Some people danced as kids, some are athletes with huge stamina, some have big followings on social media which helps on a public vote. Everyone comes in with something.

So what do you say to people who think Strictly should only feature relative beginners?

That’s never been a rule. If you look at past seasons, loads of singers, actors, performers have had some sort of dance experience at some point. Most actors went through performing arts training, and singers in boy bands or girl groups have danced for years.

But it’s important to say that I trained as an actor. I trained at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in 2015, and I hadn’t been in a dance studio since about 2014. It’s been acting only for me for a long time.

Have you felt you’ve had to prove yourself more because of all that ‘noise’?

Not at all. I don’t focus on it. We just work as hard as we can during the week and perform the best we can at the weekend. That’s all that matters.

Brilliant sounds like a very healthy attitude! 

Let’s talk about Emmerdale. Your character Nicky was such a twisty one – charming, secretive, not what he seemed. When did you find out about that storyline, and what did you enjoy about playing him?

It was great playing Nicky. When I first joined the show, the first four or five months were just him being manipulated by his dad to fall in love with Gabby and marry her so they could get some inheritance back. But I didn’t know that was the storyline at the start. I only knew the scenes I was given, so I played everything completely straight.

It wasn’t until about four months in, when I started getting the new scripts, that I realised it was my dad who’d made me do all that. I’d had no idea in the beginning. So I was playing him as if everything was real for him, which actually worked great because it made the performance look believable.

I take it that was intentional from the writers and directors, keeping you in the dark?

I think so, yeah. I think they wanted me to play it as truth.

That’s brilliant.

It made me look like a great actor.

And how much did the relentless soap schedule even begin to prepare you for the pace of Strictly?

The soap schedule was relentless. The amount of material we filmed and had to learn every day was non-stop. But that’s a very mental game. Strictly is physical as well as mental. So yes, it definitely prepared me in terms of staying switched on for long stretches.

And you’ve done a lot of stage work too. Do you find dance and acting feed into each other?

I’m trying to bring my acting into the dancing. When you’re acting, you’re usually telling a story or having a conversation, and that’s what I’m trying to do in the routines. It’s still a conversation between two people, or storytelling between two people, just physically rather than verbally.

Easier said than done though!

And you grew up in a really big family. I’m a father of two and that already feels like a lot, but you’re one of fourteen. How does that shape you?

For me it was normal. You only know what you know. Growing up in a big family teaches you it’s not all about you. You learn about sharing, caring, helping others. I’ve definitely carried that into adult life.

Fourteen children from two parents is incredible.

Nine boys and five girls. It feels completely normal when you’re living it.

Several of your brothers are boxers, right? Is there a shared mentality between boxing and the focus you need for dancing on Strictly?

Yeah, six of them boxed. Some were professionals, some amateurs, some trained, some coached. I box as well, but for me it’s always been about bonding with my brothers. Even now, when I go back to Hartlepool, we do a brothers’ boxing session on a Saturday morning, then go for breakfast after.

There’s definitely a crossover in mentality. With boxing you have to be all in. You have to look after everything, your diet, your discipline, all of it. Acting and performing are similar. You have to commit fully.

I have a big brother – I love the idea of brothers boxing. Sounds fun.

We don’t spar with each other though. We just do bag work and pads. I’m not risking a broken nose.

Probably wise!

How do you unwind from all of this? Do you actually get any downtime at the moment?

We get Sundays off at the moment, and usually me and my partner Rachel go for a walk in the park. I like being outside. We’ll get a coffee, have some lunch out, just take it slow. One night a week I try to watch The Great British Bake Off as well. I’ve got one episode left. I love that kind of TV where you don’t have to think too much, you can just relax.

And really it’s the simple things. Getting out for walks, eating out, being in the open air. Because we spend so much time inside studios all week, it’s nice to get outside whenever I can.

And your partner Rachel has a dance background too, right?

Yeah. She trained at Laine Theatre Arts, so she did go to a dance college. More recently she’s a Pilates instructor, and she does acupuncture as well. She’s got quite a mix of things she does.

Does she give you any dance notes, or do you mostly keep Strictly talk out of the house?

I show her rehearsal videos, yeah. She’s my biggest cheerleader. She really boosts my confidence with what I’m doing. She’s brilliant. Such a good support. I’m really glad I’ve got her through all of this.

What’s been the best message or bit of support you’ve had since joining the show?

Early on I got a message from a woman in Hartlepool. Her six-year-old son had seen me on Strictly, loved it, and asked to start dance lessons. She was trying to find a local class for him.

That was the moment I realised Strictly is bigger than the dancing. One kid deciding he wants to dance because he saw someone like him on TV… that was really special.

That’s gorgeous. And that’s just the one you heard about. I’m sure plenty of kids are inspired by you and the others.

Yeah. If someone is from a background like mine, sees me on screen and thinks, ‘Maybe I can do that,’ that’s amazing. It’s actually a privilege to have that influence.

However long your Strictly run lasts, what do you want people to take away from watching you this year?

Performance wise, we’ve always tried to entertain and give everything. If I went out now, I’d be happy, because I haven’t cut corners. I’ve put everything into it. I’d hate to think I could have done more.

What I really hope people see is that you can learn something new as an adult. I’m 30. I never expected to learn a completely new skill, and dancing has brought me so much unexpected joy. It’s even impacted my life outside the show. I’d love other people to feel that next-level joy too.

Your Nana seems to be loving it as well.

Yeah, Nana Dot. She’s been incredible. She’s come to the studio, she’s been in my VTs, she’s even been on It Takes Two. She gets stopped in the street now. It’s given her a new lease of life. And on Saturdays we get four generations of my family watching together, which is amazing.

Do you have a pre-show ritual?

We warm up, take a moment, look at each other and say, ‘It’s only a dance.’ It grounds us.

And what’s your relationship like with the other contestants?

We don’t see each other much in the week, but on Saturdays everyone is supportive. The only true competition is with yourself, to be better than last week.

Finally, if you could tell 11-year-old Lewis fresh from Billy Elliot one thing, what would it be?

Someone is gonna make it, so why can’t it be you?

An inspiring message to go out on! Wishing you the very best of luck for the rest of the series.

Catch Lewis on Strictly Come Dancing on BBC One on Saturday nights. The finale will air on 20 December 2025.

Follow Lewis on Instagram and Twitter/X , for all his latest news and updates.

Words Nick Barr

Photography BBC / Guy Levy