Former Strictly Come Dancing and EastEnders star James Bye has shared his thoughts on the dance competition’s ongoing ‘advantage’ controversy, sharing his thoughts on performers who might have prior dance experience.
The actor, who played Walford icon Martin Fowler until February this year, sat down to answer questions set by Betway on behalf of our sister site, EastEnders Insider.
In doing so, James shared his thoughts on Strictly, Martin’s death, and new Executive Producer Ben Wadey’s first few months on the soap.
Strictly star James Bye shares thoughts on ‘unfair’ advantage scandal
While reflecting on his time as Strictly contestant, James shared his thoughts on co-star Balvinder Sopal’s performance, saying: “She’s doing great. I didn’t know she could move like that.”
He continued: “She’s been saying to me for years that she wanted to do Strictly. When I did it, she was like, ‘Oh, I’d love to do it.’ It’s funny when people want to do it. Jillian Wright’s really keen to do it. And it’s funny, because you’d be like, “Oh, really?” Some people just have those dancing bones in them.
He added: “When [Balvinder] got announced, I was just so happy for her.”
He also took the time to weigh in on Strictly’s ongoing ‘advantage’ row, concerning those with prior dance experience. James said: “Backstage chat when I was on Strictly was everyone saying, ‘but he’s a professional dancer, or she’s a professional dancer’. And at the time you go, ‘that’s unfair’, but actually, I think the judges get it right.”
“The format works so well because it is down to the judges to keep people coming back. If they just went, Louis gets 10s because he’s the best dancer of everyone. He then makes the show just unwatchable, doesn’t it?”
James Bye reflects on ‘no-brainer’ EastEnders exit
Meanwhile, of Martin’s tragic death, Martin said: “It was heartbreaking. I felt incredibly honoured to be the central role in that whole thing, with a huge sacrifice at the end, and to do it with [Lacey Turner], my best friend on the show.
“It was something that not many people will ever get offered. It was a real sort of seesaw for me because I was like, you are going to die.”
However, with his theatre role in the P.D. James’s adaptation Death Comes to Pemberley inbound, James welcomed the opportunities his screen death entailed. “I’ve always wanted to be an actor who gets to do lots of different things,” he said.
“It was sort of a no-brainer. As an actor, I sort of didn’t think past the script. I was just like, This is a brilliant script. It’s a great story. I get to work with the best actor. It was sort of quite an easy decision, in a way.”