THE NEW Strictly Come Dancing signing Lewis Cope has YEARS of dance experience.
The Emmerdale actor has also competed in the world championship final three times.
Lewis Cope, 30, first joined the long-running ITV farm soap in 2022 as Nicky Milligan .
A year later he was nominated for the Rising Star Award at the 2023 National Television Awards .
The star has also had roles in shows such as Vera , Miss Sidhu Investigates, and Hetty Feather.
He replaced Game Of Thrones actor Kristian Nairn who quit Strictly Come Dancing over “unexpected medical reasons” .
But aside from all of his accomplishments in showbiz, Lewis also has much to brag about from his experience in the dance world.
The soap hunk has been dancing since the age of 10-years-old and has appeared on TV before.
He previously spent eight years in the dance group, Ruff Diamond who were runners up in Sky TV’s Got to Dance competition .
When he was 18-years-old, Lewis found himself performing in front of judges Ashley Banjo , Kimberly Wyatt and Aston Merrygold .
The Diversity dancer told the troupe: “You guys just absolutely smashed your own bar.
“You have to know that you are brilliant because you are up there with the best that has been on that stage.”
The group also appeared on Children in Need where they danced
with the cast of EastEnders and they were twice voted as UK Hip Hop Champions.
They also represented the UK at the 2013 World Hip Hop Dance Championships in Las Vegas .
Lewis quit Ruff Diamond in 2015 at the age of 20 so he could study at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.
The news could leave Strictly fans divided as the news comes just days after another ‘fix row.’
Strictly Come Dance 2025 lineup
Strictly Come Dancing news and the latest line up
- Nitro from Gladiators will be showing off his dance moves on this year’s show.
- Doctor Who and ER star Alex Kingston has signed up.
- Chris Robshaw, former Harlequins and England rugby captain .
- Eastenders actress Suki Panesar, has moved from Walford to the ballroom.
- Neighbours legend Stefan Dennis has been confirmed.
- George Clarke, a YouTube star, joins Strictly.
- Dani Dyer , joins with previous dancing experience .
- La Voix is the first drag star to join the main series
- Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink swaps is football boots for dancing shoes.
- Ellie Goldstein became the first contestant with Down’s Syndrome to take part.
- Thomas Skinner is swapping the boardroom for ballroom dancing
- I’m a Celeb winner Vicky Pattison has been announced.
- Emmerdale actor Lewis Cope was announced as the last contestant.
- Game of Thrones star Kristian Nairn pulled out of the show before the launch date over medical reasons.
Dani Dyer is the early favourite to lift the Glitterball trophy with bookies having her at 4/1.
In an unearthed passage from her autobiography, the former Love Island star boasted about being a ‘qualified dancer’.
Last year trained dancer Tasha Ghouri faced a backlash for her previous dance training, as well as JLS star JB Gill .
Speaking about joining the show, Lewis said: “I’m so excited to be swapping the Dales for the dance floor and joining this year’s Strictly Come Dancing.
I’ve always been a fan of the show and cannot wait to get started!”
Lewis only found out on Monday that he was joining the show and was unveiled yesterday as the final contestant.
Early Days
We can also reveal that as a youngster, he spent a year in London’s West End in the hit musical Billy Elliot, playing Billy’s best friend Michael.
Featuring music by Elton John , the show was based on the hit 2000 film which told the story of a working-class boy who discovers a passion for ballet.
Lewis has previously explained: “I moved to London on my own and lived in ‘The Billy House’, which housed all the kids from the show.”
After a year he moved back to his native Hartlepool where he took hip hop dance classes before his tenure in local street dance group Ruff Diamond.
“We were chancers and it worked (not without hard work). Ruff Diamond was my teenage life,” Lewis later stated.
Working with Beckham
Lewis’s inspirational dance story even caught the eye of David Beckham who asked him to be in his 2020 advert for his fragrance Bold Instinct.
Lewis, who has three brothers who boxed professionally, said: “I was lucky enough to be selected for David Beckham’s fragrance campaign Bold Instinct.
“He thought I had made a bold choice by choosing to dance when my brothers did boxing . He is a really lovely man.”
