David Beckham’s honest one-word response after meeting Strictly’s Lewis Cope

Before joining Emmerdale and competing on Strictly Come Dancing, Lewis Cope had already built an impressive and varied career. The 30-year-old has worked across TV, theatre, and modelling. At just 11, he starred as Billy Elliot in the West End, and the following year joined street dance group Ruff Diamond, who finished second on Sky’s Got to Dance in 2013.

After two years with the group, Lewis shifted his focus to acting, landing roles in Vera, Hetty Feather, and Miss Sidhu Investigates. In 2020, he appeared in David Beckham’s Bold Instinct fragrance campaign, showcasing his dance skills while sharing the story of his journey into the performing arts. He said: “I’m from a huge working class family. Most of my brothers do boxing, but it was just never really for me. I wanted to dance.”

After Lewis appeared in the campaign, David admitted it was “great” to meet him after posting the advert on Facebook.

He wrote: “It was great to meet Lewis Cope, Leo Jonah and That Funny Blind Guy. Thank you for sharing your inspiring stories and being part of my new fragrance launch, Bold Instinct.”

Lewis made his official debut on the Strictly dancefloor during the first live show last weekend. The soap star, who portrayed Nicky Miligan on Emmerdale from late 2022 to 2024, performed an energetic Jive to The Temptations track, Get Ready, with his partner Katya Jones.

Craig Revel Horwood branded him a “very good” dancer, while Shirley Ballas said that despite there being “plenty to like”, the performance was overloaded with choreography.

Lewis and Katya received sevens across the board from the judges, giving them a total score of 28. They placed second on the leaderboard, just behind Karen Carney and Carlos Gu, who topped the night with 31 out of 40.

Tonight they will perform the Viennese Waltz to Lose Control by Teddy Swims.

Lewis became a contestant on the show at the last minute as he stepped in for Game of Thrones star Kristian Nairn after he withdrew from the competition due to medical reasons.

Of joining the cast, Lewis said: “I’m so excited to be swapping the Dales for the dance floor and joining this year’s Strictly Come Dancing. I’ve always been a fan of the show and cannot wait to get started!”