I can’t take Strictly Come Dancing seriously anymore

Can the British public be trusted with anything? If Strictly Come Dancing is anything to go by, clearly not.

Last night, Lewis Cope – one of the strongest dancers the show has ever seen – was eliminated in the quarter-final. It wasn’t just a criminal result; it highlighted how completely farcical Strictly’s voting system has become.

What’s worse, he landed in the dance-off with Amber Davies, who was riding high off her second perfect 40. That Charleston was unbelievable. Anton Du Beke even said, ‘My only disappointment is that I couldn’t give you 25.’

Not that it would have saved her from the bottom two.

As Shirley noted, Amber’s dance was ‘destined for the West End’. And that is exactly why she was at risk of elimination. With her and Lewis having prior experience, they were doomed from the start. 

I always knew Lewis’ background would deny him the Glitterball, but it’s disgraceful that it cost him a place in the semi-final.

Lewis has been the sparkle of this year’s Strictly. Very few stars – if any – have made me so excited to tune in each week. 

While he does have dance experience, even if he insists the focus on his previous championship wins is overblown, surely that should only mean he has a higher standard to meet.

And the thing is, he did. Every single time.

Even though Lewis was in a completely different league to everyone else, he kept pushing himself further and further. He’s a significantly stronger dancer than he was 11 weeks ago, and surely that is still a fundamental part of what makes a truly worthy Strictly winner.

On Saturday night, he was mesmerising. His Salsa was packed with technical skill and precision rarely seen on Strictly – yet the judges’ feedback was absolutely farcical compared to what they gave his rivals.

Craig Revel Horwood and Shirley Ballas told the Emmerdale star it ‘wasn’t your best,’ which might be true – they’re the pros, and I’d never pretend to know a tenth of what they do – but it was still infinitely better than three other dances on the night.

Lewis should be marked on the same scale as everyone else. Any other system makes a mockery of natural talent, and why have a leaderboard at all if Strictly is just a popularity contest?

Lewis ended the night tied with George Clarke and Balvinder Sopal on 35 points. After five dance-offs, Balvinder came back fighting with such impressive grit that it was perhaps the most moving moment of the series. 

Motsi even walked onto stage and gave her a well-deserved hug, acknowledging the ‘demoralising’ time Balvinder has faced.

She deserves to be in the semi-final – and even better that she finally got there without a sixth dance-off. No other contestant in Strictly Come Dancing has shown such strong determination where the public, yet again, have stupidly ignored talent and made untrustworthy decisions in the vote. 

But if Lewis is being unfairly scrutinised for his dance background, then arguably the drama and emotion of Balvinder’s performance gave her an unfair advantage as a professional actress.

Strictly viewers seem happy to judge Lewis by that logic.

Even with my untrained eye, it’s incomprehensible that Lewis received the same score as George who, as much as I adore him, simply didn’t in my view deliver anything that could reasonably be compared. 

For me, Karen Carney – who has emerged as a late front-runner after consecutive weeks of extraordinary routines – lost her momentum on Saturday. 

Her Rumba was absolutely fine, but she made noticeable mistakes which the judges strangely celebrated but which, to me, just looked like mistakes that at this point of the competition surely should be penalised. 

She missed her partner Carlos Gu’s hand for a spin and some of her footwork and posture looked off.

So, the feedback Lewis received in comparison felt completely biased and unwarranted.

The fact George and Karen have never faced a dance-off, while Lewis and Amber have, speaks volumes of the public bias. 

This series will be defined by some of Lewis’ performances. His eerie Couple’s Choice routine in Halloween Week was by far the standout moment of this year – and even many years before it. 

It will go down in Strictly history, and yet somehow, here we are five weeks later, and that triumph won’t be celebrated in the final.

Lewis is the show’s highest scoring male celebrity ever, but that achievement has clearly meant very little to the popularity-focused public.

I’m not sure how this final, which will air in two weeks, on December 20, can be taken seriously without the strongest performer of the series – and potentially any series – standing there with a shot at the Glitterball.

I don’t know why viewers didn’t engage with Lewis the way he deserved. He was utterly charming – a gentle, wonderful man who at no point showed ego, arrogance or any assumption that he would win.

He never rested on his laurels, gave absolutely everything, and this series would have been nothing without him.

Clearly, Strictly is now a three-horse race between George, Balvinder and Karen, and that’s a little depressing. I can’t think of another talent show where talent itself is such a hindrance and personality alone can carry you to the finish line thanks to a fickle public. 

Thank God for Amber – but with another dance-off behind her, there’s every chance she won’t be in the final either. 

Every contestant left will have to raise their game even further to keep this Strictly spectacular, because without its brightest star, this series risks becoming a total dud.

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing Ross.Mccafferty@metro.co.uk. 

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