At least one Strictly Come Dancing record is set every series. Unfortunately, some of them don’t exactly inspire riotous celebrations. This year, Balvinder Sopal has broken a record nobody wanted to beat – overtaking 2015 contestant Jamelia to become the celebrity who has survived the most dance-offs in the show’s history.
While it’s a title that is probably unwelcome – Sopal didn’t look too pleased when it was brought up on spin-off show It Takes Two earlier this week – the EastEnders star has held her head high, and rightly so.
Having beaten fellow actor Alex Kingston in her fifth dance-off last weekend, Sopal once again came back fighting in Saturday night’s Musicals Week with a poignant Viennese waltz to “Never Enough” from The Greatest Showman. As the first lines of the songs kicked in, Sopal mouthed along and her performance reached a beautiful climax as pyrotechnics went off while Julian Callion spun his partner around in the centre of the dancefloor. It was elegant and graceful, with a powerful edge. As always, Sopal’s routine delivered on the storytelling but this time, it felt personal.
The significance of the dance wasn’t lost on the judges. Motsi Mabuse told Sopal: “I feel like what you wanted to say for the last weeks came out through that dance. It must be really demoralising what you have been through in this competition.” Then the tears started flowing. Mabuse rushed onto the dance floor to give Sopal a much-needed hug, before Shirley Ballas echoed her comments. “You will always be a hero for me,” she told her. “Coming back to dance that kind of performance, I have chills.”
It feels, I hate to say it, inevitable that Sopal will face another dance-off. But whatever happens, she has so much to be proud of. Her Strictly journey may not have been easy, but very few stars in the show’s history have shown as much resilience and fought back so hard. Looking at this year’s final five, there’s no denying that she deserves to be there and none of the other remaining couples have had to prove themselves anywhere near as many times.
After being greeted with cheers from her fellow contestants as she made her way to the Clauditorium, Sopal received a second hug, this time from Claudia Winkleman. “That was extraordinary and I have waited all competition for that feeling,” she told the presenter. “I’m so grateful. I’m really grateful for what I have heard tonight, it has blown my heart.”
Fighting back tears of his own, Callion told his partner: “I’m lost for words, you are such an incredible woman. When I was putting the piece together, I wanted her to finish on her own, stood there and saying, ‘I am Blavinder Sopal, I am proud of my journey and I deserve to be here’.” “You are more than enough,” he added. Who could put it better than that?
