EXCLUSIVE: Strictly star Lewis Cope on being old friends with Tom Holland - 'he wasn’t Spiderman then'
Strictly Come Dancing star Lewis Cope opens up to the Mirror about starring in Billy Elliot alongside Tom, as well as smashing stereotypes and inspiring others to dance in a wide-ranging interview
Dancing his heart out on Strictly Come Dancing every Saturday night, Lewis Cope is just like the boy he once was from Billy Elliot. He was just an 11-year-old lad from the North East when he won a role in the West End hit.
“I probably wouldn’t be doing Strictly now if it wasn’t for Billy,” he admits. “Growing up in Hartlepool, my grandad was a miner, and my brothers used to box, so it was perhaps fitting that I ended up on the show.”
Among the young cast Lewis danced with was a boy who’d one day become one of the biggest stars on the planet - Tom Holland. “He wasn’t Spiderman then, he was just Tom, and I was Lewis, and we were just little lads in our first job, just winging it and having fun,” he says.
Tom played Billy, while Lewis played his best-friend Michael, and the pair have stayed in touch ever since, and even saw each other last year. “I went to watch him in town last year doing a play - Romeo and Juliet -I saw him afterwards. He is sound, and really, really nice. Whenever we are together, we are like 11-year-old kids again, and it takes you all the way back.”
The role propelled the now-30-year-old to further success on the stage, as well as a high-profile role playing Nicky in Emmerdale. But taking part in the BBC’s flagship show, where he is partnered with Katya Jones, has seen his profile soar even more.
And Lewis’ story from a mining town to the Strictly dance floor has clearly resonated. “A parent in Hartlepool messaged me to say their six-year-old son wanted to start dance classes after watching Strictly,” he says. “My nephew has too. It warms my heart, honestly. I’m just a normal lad from Hartlepool - to have that influence is quite surreal.”
With 13 siblings, life in the Cope household came at a frenetic pace, often centred around boxing. His brothers Adam, Danny and Peter all won the Northern area title as professional fighters. “I boxed and still train now, but back then it was more a social thing to be with my brothers - that’s what I enjoyed,” he says.
Instead dance became his passion which for some young boys could have led to derision. “Being from a working-class town 20 years ago, there was always that bit of pressure but my family were so supportive that I never felt it,” he says, before laughing: “Having so many brothers that did boxing also helped.”
In any case, the concept of particular sports being for specific genders is “outdated”, he says, adding: “I do think the world has changed from 20 years ago when it happened to me. We have come a long way.” Lewis has so far taken Strictly by storm, finishing second in the combined judges’ scoreboards of weeks one and two.
It’s even more impressive given he was a last minute replacement for Game of Thrones actor Kristian Nairn “I didn’t have time to really think….I just had to try and take it all in my stride,” he says.
“I have never done a TV show like this before. But it seems I’ve gone into the biggest one. There wasn’t even a warm-up. On a serious note, it’s been fine; everyone has been supportive and full of love.”
So far Lewis has been undergoing the full Strictly experience with spray-tans, and fancy outfits. Judging by his Instagram feed which is peppered with shots showing off his six-pack, I ask whether we might expect some shirt-ripping numbers.
“We haven’t been having any conversations about having to be topless, but I’ve done modelling before where I have been... so it won’t be the first time,” he laughs. With so many siblings, coming up with enough tickets to watch him in the Strictly audience sounds a logistical nightmare.
“Hopefully I can stay on the show long enough so I can work through the whole family,” he says. “My family all love the show. My Nanna’s favourite shows were always Strictly, so it was lovely to have her in the audience for week one. My mum, my brother, his wife, and my partner came last week too.”
Lewis knows his story is inspiring kids in the same way Billy Elliot once inspired him. “I have got 16 nieces and nephews, and I think there will be more and more,” he says. “But I try and give them the mentality that anything is possible. I want to make them understand that because someone around them hasn’t done it, it doesn’t mean they can’t. You are not limited to what’s around you, you can do it.”
If it wasn’t for Billy Elliot, he says, he would never have realised the opportunities available to him. After a year in the West End, he then joined street dance group Ruff Diamond, runners up in Sky’s Got To Dance in 2013. At 18, Lewis went to drama school and he has also appeared in Vera, Doctors and Hetty Feather. “When I went and did Billy, I thought, ‘There is more. This is achievable.’ I always thought I want to be on TV. I thought, ‘Well, someone has to do it, why can it not be me?’ I guess I adopted that sort of mentality moving forward.”
He has found a kindred spirit in dance partner Katya who shares his competitive edge. Tomorrow night the pair will performing a Paso Doble to ‘The Plaza of Execution’ from The Mask Of Zorro “She’s been a world champion, a national champion multiple times, and has been doing the show for ten years… I feel like I’m in very good hands.”
Strictly Come Dancing is on BBC1 on Saturday night