Every Strictly celebrity with previous dance experience this year
While some contestants have no dancing experience at all, others have had some official training, which begs the question: does it actually make a difference?
Another year, another dance-inspired Strictly Come Dancing debate – and once again the BBC show has sparked discussion among viewers: should celebrities with past dancing experience be allowed to compete? The question has resurfaced after two contestants – Game of Thrones star Kristian Nairn and Love Island's Dani Dyer – had to leave early, leading to Emmerdale's Lewis Cope and West End performer Amber Davies stepping in as their replacements. But it wasn’t long before eyebrows were raised over their professional backgrounds.
After rugby player Chris Robshaw attempted a samba with his partner Nadiya, his wife Camilla took to Instagram to show her support. "Proud forever," she wrote. "Up against people with years of experience when you've never even done a two step, opening the whole season and starting with one of the hardest dances going. They tested you HARD. You and @nadiyabychkova blew me, and the crowd away." Viewers also took to the comments to air their frustrations. "Unpopular opinion: I think having people with so much dance experience is unfair," wrote Love Island star Amber Gill, while another added: "He did so well, zero dance or performance experience. To go first is scary enough. A new dance next week. He’ll be even better."
It’s a debate that has followed the show for years – but does it ever impact who actually wins? We'll leave that one for you to ponder in your own time. For now, read on to see which Strictly celebrities have some previous dance experience this year…
Top of the leaderboard so far is Lioness Karen, who scored 31 points after performing a jive to Blondie’s iconic 1979 hit One Way or Another. Speaking to press ahead of the launch, Karen admitted she'd danced as a child before realising her passions lay with football.
"I danced a little bit as a kid," Karen told HELLO! and other press before the show launched, "so I'm hoping I can still hear the beat, got a little bit of rhythm. But I've got a really bad posture from football and I want to be in trainers. I don't want to be in heels. I don't know what level I'm going to be at."
Perhaps one of the most "experienced" of the group, Emmerdale's Lewis Cope impressed the judges with a jive to Get Ready by The Temptations and finished in second place after Karen with 28 points.
Before joining the ITV soap, Lewis starred in the hit West End musical Billy Elliot as Michael when he was just 11. He was also a runner-up on Got to Dance, the Sky One competition, in 2013.
When asked about how he may be advantaged by his past, Lewis said: "I used to dance when I was a kid, but I haven't been in a dance studio for 13 years and I haven't danced for 13 years. When I did dance, it was hip-hop – I've never touched these sorts of styles. It is transferable, musicality, hearing the music, which I held on to, but the technique and my posture as well from boxing is very much rounded shoulders and all of that."
Like Lewis, Amber has had experience on the West End – meaning she's no stranger to performing under the spotlight.
Standing in last minute for Dani Dyer, Amber and her partner Nikita had just a day to pull a routine together – but still managed to score an impressive 27 points, finishing in joint third with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Lauren Oakley.
Speaking on her Call To Stage podcast before she was confirmed for the show, Amber said: "I feel like I know there will be, [people saying] 'she's trained, she's trained.' Yes, I did train in musical theatre. However, I am a beginner when it comes to ballroom [and] latin dancing. So I feel like I will be starting from scratch. I will give it my all."
While he may not be a West End star, athlete and Gladiators competitor Harry is no stranger to the ballroom, having taken part in last year's Christmas special.
Harry told HELLO!: "I've been training for it! Whoever my partner is in that capacity, I'm ready to lift them if they let me. I think the lifts are always a good part of Strictly, aren't they? But at the same time, I'm not too sure that if you get to score very high with them, they're just a little icing on the cake."
Meanwhile, he told Yahoo UK: "Do I have an advantage having done Christmas? I'd say, I'd say yes and no. In one sense, I know what to expect [with] the audience, but I didn't actually get to learn a dance."
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The 45-year-old drag performer, who is partnered with professional dancer Aljaž Škorjanec, has been forced to pull out of Saturday's live show due to a foot injury
