Strictly Come Dancing star Lewis Cope has scored the first perfect score of the series with his Couple’s Choice dance to “Creep” by Radiohead.
The 30-year-old Emmerdale star gave the Underworld themed performance alongside his pro partner Katya Jones during the show’s Halloween Week, with judges saying it would go down in Strictly history.
Cope’s Couple’s Choice was so good that Craig Revel Horwood – who is notoriously a harsh critic – gave Cope a personal round of applause before delivering his glowing comments.
Meanwhile, Anton Du Beke told Cope that there was “nothing” he could have done to make the dance any better than it had been in the week six live show.
“That is as good as any dance ever,” he told the soap star, who shot to the top of the leaderboard with a perfect score of 40 points – the first of the season.
Head judge Shirley Ballas said the success of the dance had made her feel “emotional” and had to take a minute to herself before heaping further praise on Cope.
Back in the ballroom balcony, Jones was grinning from ear to ear. “Look how happy Katya is!” host Claudia Winkleman noted, before telling Cope she’d been screaming in support for the entire dance.
“10 10 10 10 enough said!!!!! Our Lewis Cope is the WINNER,” one fan celebrated on X/Twitter of the long-awaited perfect score.
However, some viewers have claimed that Cope has an unfair advantage due to his previous dance experience, complaining about the competition’s “double standards”.
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day
New subscribers only. £9.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled.
Try for free
ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day
New subscribers only. £9.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled.
Try for free
ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
Other fans leapt to Cope’s defence. “Saying lewis and katya didn’t deserve 40 because he has dance experience is so bizarre to me,” one person said.
“It’s a dance and entertainment show and that was one of the most showstopping dances Strictly has ever seen!!! it doesn’t matter who dances it if it’s spectacular!!!”
Cope made his stage debut at just 11 years old, playing Michael in the West End hit Billy Elliot: The Musical.
The actor was also part of the hip-hop troupe Ruff Diamond as a teenager, who finished as runners-up on the Sky One dance competition Got to Dance in 2013.
Cope has hit back at claims he’s a “professional” dancer, telling Metro the accusations are “bizarre” and an insult to the Strictly Come Dancing professionals.
“I don’t really know where all that came from, to be honest,” he said. “I trained as an actor. I danced a bit when I was a teen, but haven’t since.”
You can follow all the latest Strictly Come Dancing updates on The Independent’s live blog here.
