Strictly Star Lewis Cope Has His Say On His ‘Muted’ Reaction To Getting First 10 Of The Series

Lewis Cope is speaking out about becoming the first contestant on this year’s Strictly Come Dancing line-up to get a perfect score from one of the judges.

The former Emmerdale star and his professional partner Katya Jones received the highest score of the series for their Paso Doble routine inspired by The Mask Of Zorro during Saturday night’s Movies Week live show.

While Craig Revel-Horwood, Shirley Ballas and Anton Du Beke each gave the duo nine points, Motsi Mabuse was the first member of the panel to reach for her “10” paddle this year.

However, during an appearance on spin-off show It Takes Two, host Janette Manrara pointed out that Lewis’ reaction to this score “almost seemed a little bit muted”.

“I think I was probably just a bit in shock,” he responded. “I couldn’t kind of believe my own eyes. I wasn’t expecting it that early on.”

Lewis Cope his official Strictly Come Dancing press portrait
Lewis Cope his official Strictly Come Dancing press portrait

BBC/Ray Burmiston

Lewis was a late addition to this year’s Strictly cast, replacing Game Of Thrones star Kristian Nairn when he was forced to pull out on medical grounds.

While he quickly emerged as a favourite to lift the Glitterball Trophy during his first performance of the series, he has also been at the centre of some discussion due to his dance background.

This has included performing as the lead in Billy Elliott on the West End and making it through to the finals of the TV talent search Got To Dance.

Last week, Lewis hit back at the suggestion that he has “professional” dance training, insisting: “I don’t really know where all that came from, to be honest. I trained as an actor, I danced a bit when I was a teen, but haven’t since.”

Amber Davies, a fellow replacement for another star, has faced similar scrutiny since joining the show last month.

Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday night at 6.30pm on BBC One.

Share Button

Strictly Come Dancing Bosses Blast ‘Nonsense’ Feud Rumours

Strictly Come Dancing bosses are hitting back at claims that a “feud” has broken out among the judging panel this year.

Earlier this week, The Sun published an article alleging that an on-screen disagreement between Craig Revel Horwood and Shirley Ballas during last week’s live show was actually a symptom of “behind-the-scene[s] tension between the pair”.

Citing an undisclosed “source”, the tabloid alleged that the recent decision for alternating judges to have the deciding vote in dance-offs each week, rather than the responsibility falling solely to Shirley, had led to a “change in the power dynamic” and made things “awkward” between the Head Judge and long-serving panellist Craig.

However, the BBC has dismissed this outright as “absolute nonsense”.

“This story is absolute nonsense and it’s clear that the anonymous ‘source’ quoted in it has no inside knowledge of Strictly,” a spokesperson insisted in a statement issued to Metro.

“Our judges are all on great terms and, while the casting vote is now shared between them, Shirley remains Strictly Come Dancing’s Head Judge.”

The Strictly Come Dancing judges pictured together ahead of this year's series
The Strictly Come Dancing judges pictured together ahead of this year’s series

BBC/Ray Burmiston

Shirley replaced Len Goodman as Strictly’s Head Judge in 2017, and in that time, has spoken openly about some of the abuse she’s faced on social media, particularly relating to decisions she’s made in the dance-off.

The Sun previously claimed that Strictly’s new tweak, allowing a different member of the panel to have the final say over which celebrity goes home in a tie-break situation, was to “protect” Shirley.

So far, two celebrities have been sent home from Strictly, with 13 pairs still in the competition ahead of Saturday night’s live show.

This week will see both Ellie Goldstein and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink performing Couple’s Choice routines, while Amber Davies is set to deliver the first Argentine Tango of the series.

Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday night at 6.30pm on BBC One.

Share Button

Josh O’Connor Gets Candid About His ‘Awful’ Les Misérables Audition Blunder

We now know him best for his work in hit shows and films like The Crown, Challengers and the upcoming Knives Out movie Wake Up Dead Man, but Josh O’Connor has revealed that long before he was an international name, there was one major role he missed out on.

During a new interview with Radio Times, Josh revealed that his first ever audition was for the role of Marius in the film adaptation of the musical Les Misérables, which arrived in cinemas in 2012.

“They were auditioning everyone! But I didn’t know that,” the Emmy winner recalled. “I don’t have any actors in my family, so everything was new to me.”

Having never seen Les Mis on stage at the time, Josh swotted up on Marius’ song Empty Chairs At Empty Tables, and was told afterwards: “Josh, we would love you to come back”.

He continued: “I got a recall, which was good, but I’m very dyslexic, so I didn’t read the full email. I just read, ‘We want you to come back!’.

“A week later, I’m on my way, walking through central London to go to my recall and I bump into a friend of mine who was doing the play Richard II with Eddie Redmayne. He’s like, ‘Where are you going?’. And I was like, ‘I’m really nervous. I have a recall to be in the movie of Les Misérables’. And he said, ‘My friend Eddie is playing Marius!’.

“I then realised my recall was for a very minor role, but I hadn’t learned the song … I didn’t even know the song. And it was awful. I didn’t get that part.”

Eddie Redmayne as Marius in 2012's Les Misérables
Eddie Redmayne as Marius in 2012’s Les Misérables

Working Title Films/Kobal/Shutterstock

Eddie Redmayne did, indeed, get to play Marius in the Les Mis film, which wound up being a breakthrough moment for the British actor, who won his first Oscar just a few years later.

It wasn’t all bad news for Josh, though.

He, in fact, did end up playing Marius himself, albeit in a BBC drama based on Victor Hugo’s book Les Misérables, which also featured the likes of future Stranger Things star Joseph Quinn and his on-screen mum Olivia Colman, as well as David Oyelowo, Adeel Akhtar and Dominic West, who would take on the role of Prince Charles in The Crown when Josh stepped down at the end of season four.

Read Josh O’Connor’s interview in full in the new issue of Radio Times.

Radio Times

Share Button

Katy Perry Alludes To Justin Trudeau Romance Rumours During London Concert

Katy Perry appeared to be alluding to her rumoured romance with former Canadian leader Justin Trudeau with a comment she made on stage on Monday night.

The Grammy-nominated singer is currently in the UK as part of her ongoing Lifetimes Tour, which most recently made a stop in London for a show at The O2 Arena.

During the show, she told the British crowd that she was impressed with their energy, enthusing: “You’re like this on a Monday night after a whole day at work and a whole day at school?”

“No wonder I fall for Englishmen all the time,” she quipped, referring to her past relationships with Russell Brand and Orlando Bloom.

“But not anymore,” she then added, in an apparent nod to Trudeau.

Justin Trudeau
Justin Trudeau

via Associated Press

She and the ex-prime minister first found themselves at the centre of dating rumours when TMZ published pictures of the unlikely duo out for dinner together at a restaurant in Montreal.

The US gossip site claimed at the time that the two had been seen “sipping cocktails” and “sharing several dishes”, while security monitored them from a table close by.

Days later, he was then photographed at the barrier during Katy’s show in Montreal, Canada, on the fifth of the six Canadian stops on her ongoing world tour, and they’ve more recently been sighted kissing and embracing while on board a yacht off the coast of California.

The pair were first rumoured to be dating just weeks after Katy and her ex-fiancé Orlando confirmed they had parted ways after around a decade together.

At the time, the former couple insisted they would remain friends, and shortly afterwards, they went on holiday together with their daughter, Daisy, and Orlando’s teenage son, Flynn.

Former world leader Trudeau has been single since August 2023, when it was announced that he and Sophie Grégoire, his wife of 18 years, had separated.

Share Button

Bridgerton Season 4 Release Date: Here’s How Long Fans Have To Wait Until The New Episodes

Bridgerton bosses have revealed that fans’ next trip to The Ton is mere months away.

It’s now been over a year since the latest instalment of the Netflix period drama, which broke from the order of the original novel series in order to bring fans the love story between Colin Bridgerton and Penelope Featherington, played by fan-favourites Luke Newton and Nicola Coughlan.

On Monday morning, Netflix shared an exciting preview video for season four, which revealed some good news and bad news for Bridgerton devotees.

First, the good news: Bridgerton will be back on our screens early next year.

Unfortunately, not all of the news is positive however, with Netflix once again making the decision to split the season in two, the first part of which will arrive on Thursday 29 January 2026, followed by a second drop four weeks later, on 26 February.

Watch the teaser for yourself below:

<div class="js-react-hydrator" data-component-name="YouTube" data-component-id="6820" data-component-props="{"itemType":"video","index":8,"contentIndexByType":1,"contentListType":"embed","code":"

","type":"video","meta":{"author":"Netflix","author_url":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWOA1ZGywLbqmigxE4Qlvuw","cache_age":86400,"description":"The social season has begun again. What scandalous secrets await us this time? Bridgerton Season 4 will arrive in two parts with Part 1 premiering January 29th and Part 2 on February 26th. Only on Netflix.\n\nWatch on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81511877\n\nAbout Netflix:\nNetflix is one of the world’s leading entertainment services, with over 300 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, films and games across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can play, pause and resume watching as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, and can change their plans at any time.\n\nBridgerton Season 4 | Date Announcement | Netflix\nhttps://www.youtube.com/@Netflix","options":{"_cc_load_policy":{"label":"Closed captions","value":false},"_end":{"label":"End on","placeholder":"ex.: 11, 1m10s","value":""},"_start":{"label":"Start from","placeholder":"ex.: 11, 1m10s","value":""}},"provider_name":"YouTube","thumbnail_height":720,"thumbnail_url":"https://i.ytimg.com/vi/_7R8XRdGlyw/maxresdefault.jpg","thumbnail_width":1280,"title":"Bridgerton Season 4 | Date Announcement | Netflix","type":"video","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7R8XRdGlyw","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"enhancements":{},"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"desktop","editionInfo":{"id":"uk","name":"U.K.","link":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk","locale":"en_GB"},"originalEdition":"uk","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isMobile":false,"isAdsFree":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"68ece678e4b0e8380ba8f432","entryPermalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/bridgerton-season-4-release-date-announced-how-long_uk_68ece678e4b0e8380ba8f432","entryTagsList":"we-love-tv,netflix,bridgerton","sectionSlug":"entertainment","deptSlug":null,"sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"","isWide":false,"isShopping":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"uk.entertainment","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc140cf94592c45d7390c","disabledWithMapiEntries":false,"overrides":{"all":"60b8e525cdd90620331baaf4"},"whitelisted":["56c5f12ee4b03a39c93c9439","56c6056ee4b01f2b7e1b5f35","59bfee7f9e451049f87f550b","5acccbaac269d609ef44c529","570278d2e4b070ff77b98217","57027b4be4b070ff77b98d5c","56fe95c4e4b0041c4242016b","570279cfe4b06d08e3629954","5ba9e8821c2e65639162ccf1","5bcd9904821576674bc55ced","5d076ca127f25f504327c72e","5b35266b158f855373e28256","5ebac2e8abddfb04f877dff2","60b8e525cdd90620331baaf4","60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","60d0d8e09340d7032ad0fb1a","60d0d90f9340d7032ad0fbeb","60d0d9949340d7032ad0fed3","60d0d9f99340d7032ad10113","60d0daa69340d7032ad104cf","60d0de02b627221e9d819408"],"playlists":{"default":"57bc306888d2ff1a7f6b5579","news":"56c6dbcee4b04edee8beb49c","politics":"56c6dbcee4b04edee8beb49c","entertainment":"56c6e7f2e4b0983aa64c60fc","tech":"56c6f70ae4b043c5bdcaebf9","parents":"56cc65c2e4b0239099455b42","lifestyle":"56cc66a9e4b01f81ef94e98c"},"playerUpdates":{"56c6056ee4b01f2b7e1b5f35":"60b8e525cdd90620331baaf4","56c5f12ee4b03a39c93c9439":"60d0d8e09340d7032ad0fb1a","59bfee7f9e451049f87f550b":"60d0d90f9340d7032ad0fbeb","5acccbaac269d609ef44c529":"60d0d9949340d7032ad0fed3","5bcd9904821576674bc55ced":"60d0d9f99340d7032ad10113","5d076ca127f25f504327c72e":"60d0daa69340d7032ad104cf","5ebac2e8abddfb04f877dff2":"60d0de02b627221e9d819408"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"16b0ecc6-802c-4120-845f-e90629812c4d","clickToPlayPlayer":"823ac03a-0f7e-4bcb-8521-a5b091ae948d","videoPagePlayer":"05041ada-93f7-4e86-9208-e03a5b19311b","defaultPlaylist":"2e062669-71b4-41df-b17a-df6b1616bc8f"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mNkYAAAAAYAAjCB0C8AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":10},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":0},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"68ece678e4b0e8380ba8f432","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"desktop","page_edition":"en-uk"},"tags":[{"name":"we love tv","slug":"we-love-tv","links":{"relativeLink":"news/we-love-tv","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/we-love-tv","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/we-love-tv"},"url":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/we-love-tv/"},{"name":"Netflix","slug":"netflix","links":{"relativeLink":"news/netflix","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/netflix","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/netflix"},"relegenceId":3173032,"url":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/netflix/"},{"name":"bridgerton","slug":"bridgerton","links":{"relativeLink":"news/bridgerton","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/bridgerton","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/bridgerton"},"url":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/bridgerton/"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"backfillRelatedArticles":[],"cetUnit":"buzz_body","enableIncontentPlayer":false,"bodyAds":["

\r\n\r\n HPGam.cmd.push(function(){\r\n\t\treturn HPGam.render(\"inline-1\", \"entry_paragraph_1\", false, false);\r\n });\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n HPGam.cmd.push(function(){\r\n\t\treturn HPGam.render(\"inline\", \"entry_paragraph_2\", false, false);\r\n });\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n HPGam.cmd.push(function(){\r\n\t\treturn HPGam.render(\"inline-2\", \"entry_paragraph_3\", false, false);\r\n });\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n HPGam.cmd.push(function(){\r\n\t\treturn HPGam.render(\"inline-infinite\", \"repeating_dynamic_display\", false, false);\r\n });\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0,"midArticleAdPartner":null},"isCollectionEmbed":false}”>

It was previously confirmed that the new batch of episodes will focus on Benedict Bridgerton, portrayed in the first three seasons by Luke Thompson.

While Benedict has previously taken a somewhat more fast-and-loose approach to romance, the new season will see him falling in love with a new character, played by Yerin Ha, who meets him at a much-hyped masquerade ball.

An official Netflix synopsis previously teased: “The fourth season of Bridgerton turns its focus to bohemian second son Benedict. Despite his elder and younger brothers both being happily married, Benedict is loath to settle down – until he meets a captivating Lady in Silver at his mother’s masquerade ball.”

Other new additions to the cast include Michelle Mao, Isabella Wei and Katie Leung, previously best known for her work as Cho Chang in the Harry Potter movies.

The first three seasons of Bridgerton, as well as the spin-off prequel series Queen Charlotte, are available to stream now on Netflix.

Share Button