Strictly’s Lewis Cope and Katya Jones can’t wipe the smiles off their faces as they reunite at pal’s star-studded birthday bash – after she broke down over their shock elimination

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Lewis Cope, who recently competed on Strictly, and his professional dance partner Katya Jones were seen together at a lavish 30th birthday party for their friend Stevie Ruffs, just a week after their unexpected elimination from the show.

The 30-year-old Emmerdale actor and his 36-year-old dancer partner were all smiles while celebrating the influencer’s birthday at Louie in London’s Covent Garden.

Lewis looked effortlessly stylish in a well-fitted black suit with a double-breasted jacket, worn over a plain T-shirt.

Katya, also wearing black, looked striking in a short blazer dress. She completed her outfit with long socks and platform shoes.

She used glamorous makeup to highlight her delicate features and secured her long, dark hair with an expensive Gucci scarf.

The pair had a lively and fun night out, celebrating with Love Island star Amber-Rose Gill, actress Zizi Strallen, and dancer Abbie Quinnen.

Viewers were shocked and angry when the pair was eliminated from the competition, calling it a major injustice. Many believed they were frontrunners to win and had consistently been at the top of the rankings.

Last week on It Takes Two, Katya shared that she felt responsible for her and Lewis being eliminated from the show. They lost in a dance-off against Amber Davis and Nikita Kuzmin, and Katya admitted she’d been blaming herself ever since.

Through tears, she admitted she wished she had handled things differently to help him. She realized he could only act on her requests, and he hadn’t followed through this time.

He always did that. We faced a lot of pressure to perform nearly flawless, amazing routines every Saturday, and you always delivered. I honestly don’t know how you managed it, but you did.

Lewis put an arm around her as he sweetly insisted: ‘Because of you!’

Even though Lewis and Amber both did well during Musicals week and were near the top of the rankings, they had to perform again to secure a spot in the semi-finals.

Amber and Nikita, with a score of 40, danced the Charleston to “Sit Down You’re Rockin’ The Boat” from the musical Guys and Dolls. Following them, Lewis and Katya performed a Salsa to “Dance at the Gym” from West Side Story.

Judge Shirley Ballas was stunned by the dance-off outcome. She said, ‘I’m truly lost for words. Remember, you’re all competing for a spot in the semi-final, and everyone has been fantastic. Let the best dancer win!’

Motsi Mabuse’s vote was the deciding factor in sending Amber and Nikita to the semi-final. The other three judges had already chosen the former Love Island star.

Viewers were upset with the outcome of the dance competition, believing Lewis should have won the championship trophy.

They wrote on X: ‘I’m so heart broken for Katya, I really thought she’d win it this year’;

I’m really upset that Lewis and Katya won’t be dancing together anymore. It’s heartbreaking! I also think the results were strange – Lewis deserved to be in the final. It’s a real shame it didn’t happen.

‘So gutted. Lewis was incredible, he really didn’t deserve to go home this early’.

Lewis shared with host Tess Daly that his experience on the show exceeded all expectations. He said it was ‘more than I could have ever wished for’.

At the start, if anyone had told me I’d last 11 weeks on the show, I would have been thrilled and accepted immediately.

Thank you to everyone involved with the show for creating such a wonderful and supportive environment where people can be themselves, grow, and learn. This has been an incredible experience, a memory I’ll cherish forever, and I especially want to thank Katya – I feel it wouldn’t have been possible without you.

You’ve been an amazing friend and teacher – everything I could have asked for, and I can’t imagine going through this with anyone else. Thank you so much.

Balvinder Sopal and Julian Caillon were eliminated from the show on Sunday, leaving three contestants to compete in the finale.

As a longtime observer of these competitions, it’s always tough to see a strong performer leave, and that’s exactly what happened with the EastEnders star this weekend. They really fought hard – surviving an incredible five dance-offs throughout the season! But unfortunately, they were eliminated in the semi-finals. When it came down to the final dance-off, the judges all agreed to keep Amber and Nikita in the competition instead.

After both Balvinder and Amber performed twice on Saturday’s live show, they each selected one of their routines to repeat.

Balvinder expressed how honored she was to be performing once more, and Amber admitted she felt nervous competing against such a skilled dancer.

I was completely captivated by Balvinder and Julian’s Salsa – they danced to Gloria Estefan’s ‘Rhythm Is Gonna Get You/Get On Your Feet’ and it was amazing! Right after, Amber and Nikita took the floor with a beautiful Couple’s Choice routine, set to RAYE’s ‘Fly Me to the Moon’.

Oh my gosh, I was SO relieved when the judges – all four of them! – decided to save Amber and Nikita! It was the right call, absolutely the right call. But honestly, my heart broke when they announced Balvinder and Julian were going home. It was so sad to see them leave the competition, I really thought they had a chance!

This year’s Strictly Come Dancing final will be between Amber and Nikita, George Clarke and Alexis Warr, and Karen Carney and Carlos Gu.

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2025-12-15 14:21