Lewis Cope, the actor who has been dating his actress girlfriend for eight years, talks about how she supports him and Katya Jones in secret in this exclusive conversation.
After being drafted into the Strictly Come Dancing ballroom as a replacement for DJ Kristian Nairn, former Emmerdale actor Lewis Cope has been showing off his moves with long-time pro Katya Jones. The 30-year-old achieved the highest score – 37 – in Week 3’s Movie Night, impressing even Craig Revel Horwood with his Paso doble performed to The Plaza of Execution from The Mask of Zorro.
The Hartlepool-born actor reveals how his actress girlfriend, Rachel Maya Lopez, has been making sure he’s fighting well for his strenuous rehearsals when he and Katya pose for an exclusive new photoshoot with Notebook. The couple started dating about eight years ago, but they don’t make regular red carpet appearances. Instead, they spend their free time exploring and traveling.
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Lewis told OK! about how his other half felt about being drafted into Strictly at the eleventh hour. She continued, “Rachel is a super supporter, she’s making my dinners and sending me off with a packed lunch for my rehearsals,” adding, “She’s over the moon.”
“We managed to squeeze in a little holiday in Naxos, Greece, before the show and she booked us a studio over there, and she was getting me moving and doing Pilates and things!”
Rachel posted a video to her Instagram page on the night of the Strictly launch show, revealing that Lewis’s friends and family – including some of his 14 siblings – were joined by his dance partner Katya, 36, for the watch party.
Our Sweet Lew, we are right behind you, she wrote in the video. You are a very impressive person.
After posting some of the highest scores in Weeks 1 and 2 and topping the leaderboard in Week 3, Lewis and Katya are already being considered the favorites to win the series.
After appearing in Billy Elliot The Musical two decades ago, Lewis has however received criticism for having a dance background. Lewis said, “It’s strange to hear that I’m some sort of “professional dancer,” explaining why he believes the criticism is unfair and insults the profession. I’ve never danced professionally and it’s been so long since.
He continued, “When I was 11 years old, Billy Elliot The Musical was not for me, so I played Michael and did some tap dancing.” I then joined a hip-hop dance team in Hartlepool, where I performed hip-hop with a group of six other people and competed in amateur events. Then, I began acting school, and I haven’t appeared in any acting since.
I’ve been a dancer for 12 years for the first time. And now that I’m working with people who are pro dancers like Katya, I feel a little insult to those guys. They have sacrificed their lives for this, which is incredible.
BBC One continues to broadcast Strictly Come Dancing.
Source: Mirror
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