Lewis Cope has faced criticism from Strictly Come Dancing fans because of his musical hteatre past (Image: BBC)

Strictly Come Dancing’s Lewis Cope and his professional partner Katya Jones have addressed criicism of his musical theatre background. The former Emmerdale star was a late addition to the line up joining the show as a replacement for Game of Thrones star Kristian Nairn. The announcement was made on The One Show just hours after the 49-year-old actor and DJ withdrew from the show citing medical reasons on August 21. Within minutes of being confirmed for the show social media blew up wioth people complaining the 30-year-old star had a dance background having trianed as a child and starred in musical theatre.

Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk following a rehearsal for the latest show, his partner Katya defended him against the backlash. “There’s this misleading perception that it comes easy to Lewis or even Amber (Davies, who also has a musical theatre background) and people with experience of some sort of performance. The fact is what viewers see on Saturday night is genuinely the product of really, really hard work and dedication and applying themselves on all levels. It’s not glamorous,” she said.

Lewis confirmed this saying: “It’s a process, isn’t it? What you see on Saturday night is, is literally four days (of training). We’ve got basically four days to rehearse, and they’re full days. You wake up in the morning, it’s dark outside, and you go (to train).

“You’re getting in of an evening, and it’s dark outside. You literally give your full life for those four days. So it is hard work. It’s not easy,” he said.

The hard work is paying of as the couple became the first pairing to score a 10 in last weeks show when judge Motsi Mabuse was so impressed by their Paso Double she brandished the coveted paddle.

Former Emmerdale star Lewis Cope says that Strictly Come Dancing training is hard work (Image: BBC)

They were understandably delighted with the mark, as it’s Katya’s first 10 since 2017.

However, they are not expecting it as a given every week and appreciate that they can’t get complacent.

“Obviously, it’s nice to kind of get that recognition,” Lewis acknowledges. “(But) I kind of understand that every week is a new week, and a new style and a new dance, and certain dances will sit better on you than others.

“We celebrated it as much as we could. (But) we’re not riding on that wave. We’re starting from scratch, and we’re not resting on our laurels.”