Strictly Come Dancing viewers believe they have already identified this year's winner after the first live episode – and it is not Lacey Turner.
The new series of the BBC One programme kicked off this month, featuring a diverse line-up of celebrities including Lacey Turner, Chris Appleton and Jamie Winstone. On Saturday (September 26), the inaugural live episode aired, with the celebrities performing on the dance floor for the first time. It was Emmerdale actor Lawrence Robb's performance that sparked the most reaction.
Lawrence's fiery paso doble wins fans over
The Scottish star, dancing with professional partner Jowita Przystal, delivered a fiery paso doble to Harry Styles' 'Aperture', earning 20 points from the judges. Fans quickly took to social media to share their excitement.
One viewer wrote: "LAWRENCE AND JOWITA MY WINNERS." Another commented: "OMG I LOVE!!! Could Jowita have another win under her belt?" A third added: "Jowita has a potential winner touching her left shoulder. Who is Lawrence and why are we about to fall in love with him?!"
Lawrence's nerves and family support
Before the show, Lawrence spoke about joining the Strictly class of 2026, saying: "Overwhelmed would be my first word to have used, and I think that's the word that I've used heavily over the last few weeks. Also nervous, trepidatious, but excited is the overriding emotion. I've never done anything like this before, and from the very minimal dancing that I've done in the past, I know that it's going to be an uphill battle from the get-go."
He revealed that his mum, gran and dad convinced him to sign up. "My mum is arguably more excited about it than I am, and for someone that is going to host Strictly parties every Saturday, I kind of feel like I owe it to her to do at least relatively well so she can carry on hosting them!"
Describing family reactions, Lawrence added: "It was varied! It went from 'oh nice', to pure weeping. My Dad was very proud and happy, but he doesn't watch the show, so I don't think it hit home in the same way that it did for my Mum. My Mum knew that I was going in for it and that it was on the cards, and as soon as I phoned my Mum to tell her, my younger brother was like, 'I want to be on the call to watch her reaction!' I told a couple of people at Emmerdale on the day about 20 minutes before the announcement, and a couple of them jumped through the roof."
Strictly Come Dancing airs every weekend on BBC One.
