Strictly Come Dancing star Lewis Cope has found himself being fiercely defended by former professional Vincent Simone.
From the very beginning of the series, Lewis has faced backlash from Strictly fans over his background in dancing.
Since then, Lewis has defended himself, explaining exactly what background in dance he has. But it still seems some viewers believe he shouldn’t be on the show. And after scoring the first 40 of the series, Lewis has been defended.
Lewis Cope defended by Strictly pro Vincent Simone
Speaking exclusively to Entertainment Daily on behalf of Paddy Power, Strictly professional Vincent Simone revealed his true thoughts on Lewis.
And it seems to him, it was a perfect dance and deserved the score.
He explained: “There was nothing else that could be added to Lewis and Katya’s performance. Even Craig basically said as much.
“If they had booked a private lesson with me afterwards, I would have told them to keep their money. I couldn’t improve that routine.”
Vincent gushed: “It was technically complete, beautifully expressed, and perfectly in sync with the choreography. It was worth every penny of my TV licence.”
Why is Lewis getting backlash?
Despite Vincent being a fan of Lewis, quite a lot of people believe he has an unfair advantage because of his history.
When Lewis was 11 years old, he starred in Billy Elliot in the West End. But while he was in the show, he played Michael and just did some tap dance.
A few weeks ago, Lewis actually spoke out about the feedback, admitting he found it “strange”.
He said: “It’s strange to hear that I am some kind of ‘professional dancer’. It has been so long since I danced. And I never trained professionally.”
After starring in Billy Elliot, Lewis was in a hip-hop dance crew. But has not done anything since as he moved to acting. And none of his previous dance experiences were in ballroom.
Lewis admitted: “Now that I am working with people who are pro dancers, like Katya, it feels like a bit of an insult to those guys.”
Read more: Strictly’s Lewis Cope reveals he almost suffered dangerous blunder on live show
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