James Jordan thinks Lewis Cope has more skill than Strictly Come Dancing professionals
Former Strictly Come Dancing professional James Jordan feels that ex-Emmerdale star Lewis Cope is better than the show's pros because of his background in dance.
James Jordan believes that Strictly Come Dancing star Lewis Cope is better than the professional dancers on the programme.
The former Emmerdale actor and his dance partner Katya Jones scored perfect marks for their Charleston in the BBC show's Blackpool special last weekend and ex-Strictly pro James - who competed on the Saturday night favourite from 2006 to 2013 - thinks that he is capable of performing moves that "80 per cent" of the series' male dancers are unable to do.
Speaking to The Sun on behalf of Freebets.com, Jordan said: "He is a fully-trained dancer. You cannot go out there and what he's doing unless you have f****** loads of dance training.
"It would make our profession look like it's really easy, and it's not really easy, hence why people who have had no dance training are s*** in comparison."
Lewis, 30, was a member of the street dance troupe Ruff Diamond during his teenage years and James thinks his experience was showcased in his exceptional Blackpool performance.
The 47-year-old dancer said: "Honestly, if you watch that routine back from last week, he was as good, if not better, than Katya.
"And I can categorically say some of the stuff that he did, I would put my bottom dollar on it, 80 per cent of the boy pros on that show couldn't, and 100 per cent of them couldn't do the flips and tricks that he was doing, because we're not trained in that.
"We've never done that before. If I tried to do some of the stuff he was doing, I'd break my spine."
James added: "I love it. I love watching him. I thought he was amazing. He's, in my opinion, done two of the best dances ever seen on Strictly: his couple's choice and the dance from last week. It was exceptional. But that's only because he's dance-trained."
Lewis stated last month that he is puzzled by claims that he is "professional dancer" and think it is "a bit of an insult" to professionals such as Katya to suggest that his performing background gives him an advantage on the show.
Speaking to OK! magazine, Lewis said: "It's strange to hear that I'm some kind of 'professional dancer'.
"It's been so long since I danced, and I never trained professionally. I did Billy Elliot The Musical when I was 11, but I wasn't good enough to play Billy Elliot, so I played Michael and just did some tap dance.
"After that, I joined a hip-hop dance crew where I did hip-hop with a group of six lads back in Hartlepool, we did amateur competitions. Then I went on to train to be an actor and I've only ever acted since."
He added: "This is the first time I've been inside a dance studio for 12 years. And now I'm working with people who are actually pro dancers like Katya, it feels like a bit of an insult to those guys. They've dedicated their lives to this and they're incredible."
