Emmerdale star Lewis Cope has been announced as the latest celebrity joining the cast of Strictly Come Dancing for its 2025 series. The multi-award-winning show, produced by BBC Studios, will return to BBC One and BBC iPlayer this September.
Cope is best known for playing Nicky Milligan on ITV's Emmerdale, a character revealed to be part of the iconic Tate and Dingle families. He was nominated for the Rising Star Award at the 2023 National Television Awards for the role.
Beyond Emmerdale, Cope has appeared in Vera, Miss Sidhu Investigates, and Hetty Feather, and worked with David Beckham on an advertising campaign. On stage, he played Leonard Vole in Agatha Christie's Witness for the Prosecution and toured in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. At age 11, he made his West End debut in Billy Elliot: The Musical.
“I'm so excited to be swapping the Dales for the dance floor and joining this year's Strictly Come Dancing. I've always been a fan of the show and cannot wait to get started!” Cope said.
The news was revealed on The One Show on Thursday 21 August, following Kristian Nairn's earlier departure. Cope will dance alongside previously announced stars including Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, Dani Dyer, Alex Kingston, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Balvinder Sopal, George Clarke, La Voix, Chris Robshaw, Ellie Goldstein, Thomas Skinner, Vicky Pattison, Stefan Dennis, Ross King and Karen Carney.
Strictly Come Dancing is a BBC Studios Entertainment production, commissioned by Kalpna Patel-Knight. The executive producer is Sarah James, with series editors Nicola Fitzgerald and Jack Gledhill. The show returns this autumn on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
