Scottish Emmerdale actor Lawrence Robb earned 20 points from the judges for his first Strictly Come Dancing live performance, and fans have already declared him a potential winner.
On Saturday (September 26), the first live episode of the new BBC One series aired, featuring celebrities including Lacey Turner, Chris Appleton and Jamie Winstone. Robb, partnered with professional dancer Jowita Przystal, performed a pasodoble to Aperture by Harry Styles.
Fans react to Lawrence's debut
Viewers took to X to share their enthusiasm. One fan wrote: "LAWRENCE AND JOWITA MY WINNERS." Another said: "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? !" Another viewer commented: "Lawrence was amazing! ! ! Wow," while a fifth noted: "Lawrence is a strong dancer. Not a bad Paso for his first dance."
Lawrence on joining the show
Speaking before the series began, Robb described his feelings about joining the Strictly class of 2026: "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."
He added: "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. I think once things kick off, I'll probably understand what I've got myself into!"
The actor revealed that his mum, gran and father persuaded him to accept the invitation. He said: "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!"
Family and Emmerdale reaction
Describing how his loved ones responded to the news, Robb said: "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."
He continued: "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.
