Strictly star defends contestants with past dance experience after backlash

‘We can’t go out there and compare ourselves to each other,’ said professional dancer Lauren Oakley

Strictly Come Dancing professional Lauren Oakley has defended contestants on this year’s show after they faced backlash for having previous dance experience.

Two of the celebrities of the 2025 edition of the BBC competition, Emmerdale’s Lewis Cope and Love Island winner Amber Davies, have both had dancing training prior to joining the show.

The wife of Rugby player Chris Robshaw, who finished near the bottom of the leaderboard on the opening week of this year’s show, said it was “wild” that some contestants already had more experience than others.

Oakley, who is currently partnered with former footballer Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, has responded to the backlash, saying: “Strictly is about inclusivity and inclusivity doesn’t stop at ability”.

The 34-year-old said that the Strictly audience “want to see something different”, including underdogs, entertainers and “people that dance really amazingly well already”.

"I think it’s a spectrum and I think everybody is on their own path,” she told The Sun. "We can’t go out there and compare ourselves to each other, it’s just that everyone is on their own path."

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink with Lauren Oakley on Strictly (BBC)

Oakley highlighted that just because a celebrity is trained in one dance discipline doesn’t mean they’ll excel at others and that even professionals can struggle. “It’s a completely different experience, my friend is ballet trained but she’s had to unlearn a lot of things in order to do Latin,” she added.

"Everyone’s there to learn a new talent, everyone’s there to have a lovely time, everyone’s there to make sure people at home have a lovely time and hopefully that’s what we do."

Both Cope and Davies were late additions to Strictly 2025, stepping in after previously announced celebrities dropped out.

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Cope, who plays Nicky Miligan on Emmerdale and has appeared in the West End production of Billy Elliot the Musical, replaced Game Of Thrones star Kristian Nairn who dropped out of Strictly for medical reasons.

Davies, meanwhile, was a last minute replacement for fellow Love Island star Dani Dyer, who withdrew from Strictly last week due to an ankle injury.

The 28-year-old won Love Island in 2017 and has since pursued a career in acting, appearing in numerous West End shows including 9 to 5: The Musical, Back to the Future: The Musical and The Great Gatsby.

Both Davies and Cope impressed on the first live show of the series scoring 28 and 27 points respectively and comfortably finishing in the top four for the week.

The leaderboard from week one of Strictly 2025 (BBC)

Former footballer Karen Carney topped the leaderboard with her partner Carlos Gu, who were awarded 31 points thanks to their high-energy jive.