James Bye made a surprise return to Strictly Come Dancing during Halloween Week, appearing on screen to support his former EastEnders co-star Lacey Turner and leaving fans emotional.
The popular dance show aired its Halloween special on Saturday evening, October 31. The remaining couples performed for judges Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, and Anton Du Beke, with presenters Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe, and Johannes Radebe hosting the event.
James Bye's surprise appearance
Lacey Turner and Vito Coppola were the last duo to take to the dance floor, performing a Charleston to Crazy Stupid Love by Cheryl and Tinie Tempah. Before their routine, viewers saw James Bye, who played Lacey's on-screen husband Martin Fowler in EastEnders, cheering her on in the training room.
The 42-year-old actor, known for his role in EastEnders, competed on Strictly in 2022 with professional dancer Amy Dowden. The pair made it to Halloween Week before being eliminated from the competition.
Fans react to the reunion
Speaking to the camera, Lacey said: "It's the best that James has come to see me. He is literally like my brother." James told Lacey and Vito: "Knowing you very, very well, I'm blown away. Straight up blown away. You look great on the dance floor."
Lacey mentioned that James had warned her the experience would be "hard", adding: "You just didn't specify how hard!" James replied: "You are way better than I was. I know that's not hard!" He then joked: "[Halloween] was my favourite week, when I left the show with the Charleston."
The actor concluded: "Lace, you guys are smashing it. I hope your Charleston on Halloween goes a lot better than mine, which I'm sure it will."
Fans took to social media to express their delight at James's return. One person posted on X: "Stacey and Martin reunited." Another wrote: "This made my actual night youse don't get it." A third exclaimed: "Martin's back!" while someone else posted: "JAMES AWWW [crying emojis]." A fifth viewer wrote: "JAMES AND LACEY REUNITED GOD I LOVE THEM! OUR STACEY AND MARTIN." Another added: "James and Lacey I miss them."
Leaderboard success
Lacey and Vito's Charleston impressed the judges, earning them top spot on the leaderboard with 36 points. Motsi Mabuse said: "Wow, best dance of the night. Congratulations! Stunning, stunning!"
Shirley Ballas added: "I'm going to say that on week one, I looked at you and [saw that you were] really quite timid... You shocked me [tonight], you had me on the front of my seat. That's a huge improvement, well done."
Strictly Come Dancing is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
