BBC fans were left gobsmacked after ex-Emmerdale’s Lewis and his pro partner Katya Jones were eliminated from the competition.

A man with a white shirt and light blue jacket with a brown collar comforting a crying woman in a dark sequined dress.
Katya Jones broke down in floods of tears as she shared her heartbreak over their exitCredit: BBC
Man with dark hair and a light blue jacket speaking.
Emmerdale’s Lewis Cope admitted he was gutted to miss out on the semi-finalsCredit: bbc
Man in light blue jacket and woman in blue sequined top sitting on a couch, with the woman appearing to cry.
Katya said she wouldn’t have done anything differently despite the shock exitCredit: bbc
The actor, 30, had performed a number of all-time great routines this series and looked nailed on to reach the final.

But he faced tough competition in Amber Davies in a shock dance-off and was eliminated from the competition, with all four judges saving Amber.

Appearing on It Takes Two on Monday, Lewis admitted he was gutted to have narrowly missed out on the semi-final.

He said: “We’re just trying to focus on the positives, it’s been an amazing 11 weeks and of course it hurts and it will take a bit of time to get over.

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“But I’m really proud of what we’ve done.”

Pro dancer Katya Jones shared: “We wouldn’t do anything differently, we stayed true ourselves with each number

“A lot of my life I was told ‘less Katya’, but finally I just needed the right dance partner to match that.

We did say we were such a good team, we said to ourselves at the very start of that that it was going to be a ‘yes room’ and we stuck to that.

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“Every Saturday he text me ‘morning mush’ and I knew we’ve got this and that he was going to deliver.

Lewis admitted his family were gutted to see him leave but said it was special to have four generations of his family come together to watch him.


Co-host Fleur East then asked what they thought about some of their performances and choreography together, which set Katya off.

Breaking down in floods of tears, Katya said: “Looking back, I can’t help but think maybe I could have done things differently to make it work for him better.”

Lewis said: “You did everything perfect

“But you can only do what I asked for him to do, not just this time but every single day.

“And we were in a difficult position, we were expected to deliver this almost perfect showstopping routines every single Saturday.

“Which you did, I don’t know how but you did,” to which Lewis said: “Because of you.”

With tears rolling down her face, Katya continued: “It’s tough but also I’m really really proud, we grafted for weeks.”

As Lewis added: “It’s been a hard three months.”

Lewis described his Strictly experience as “rewarding and heartwarming”.

He looked at Katya and said: “You have made me fall in love with dance but also made me fall in love with life again, so thank you.”

“We were so lucky to watch your magic because you were one of a kind,” Katya added.

RESULTS SHOCK

After Sunday’s shock results, Lewis paid a gushing tribute to his teacher Katya, saying: “It’s been incredible and will be a memory for the rest of my life, and I think’s all down to you, you’ve given me everything as a friend as a teacher.”

A tearful Katya said: “I think you have created so many moments for Strictly Come Dancing that will be in the history books, you will be remembered as the best male celebrity we ever had on the show.

“I really hope Lewis Cope will be remembered for the incredible person you are.”

She went on to call him a “kind, humble gentleman”.

Amber and her partner Nikita Kuzmin both burst into tears after surviving the elimination.

Viewers were gutted that both Amber and Lewis were at risk at all.

One fan vented on X: “This is a joke. #Strictly used to be a dancing competition, but the best dancer hasn’t won since Jay McGuiness in 2015 & this is the biggest robbery in Strictly history for me. I’ve watched every ep of every series of this show but I’m done for this series. Devastated honestly.”

Another fumed: “Oh my goodness! I’ve just read your spoiler and I am shocked to the core. That is SO ridiculous that I don’t think I can bring myself to watch another minute of Strictly. I’m out!

A third posted: “So angry at this – two absolutely astounding dancers in the dance off and neither should have gone home. I guess there’s no point watching the rest of the series now though so got some time back there!”

A fourth ranted: “One of the biggest shocks in #Strictly #StrictlyComeDancing’s 21 year history. I AM GOBSMACKED!!!!!!“

In a closely fought quarter-final on Saturday night, Lewis tied in second place with Balvinder Sopal and George Clarke, all three scoring 35.

Show favourite Karen Carney finished just behind, scoring 34 for her Samba.

Karen became the most successful footballer in the show’s history after making it to the semis and said: “I just can’t thank everyone enough who gave us the opportunity and for fighting for us.”

It ended a run of five consecutive dance-offs for EastEnders star Balvinder, a show record, and she looked elated to make it to the semi-final.

She said last night: “I have to say a huge thank you to everyone who deemed us worth of getting to the semi-final.

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“I think we just went out there and gave it our all. Our hearts were on the dancefloor.”

Lewis and Katya danced a Salsa to the music of West Side Story but it wasn’t as flawless as previous routines.

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Lewis was eliminated on Sunday after he found himself in the bottom with Amber Davies