Cach Mercer, the former Love Island contestant and self-taught street dancer, has defiantly refused to abandon his unconventional style on Strictly Come Dancing, despite landing in the dance-off last weekend. The 25-year-old and his professional partner Maddie Ingoldsby scored 26 points for their waltz, leaving them joint bottom of the leaderboard, before being saved by head judge Shirley Ballas.
Cach vows to stay true to himself
Rather than change his approach, Cach insists he will keep incorporating elements of his own dance identity into his routines. "I feel like there's a good blend of showing who I am plus showing what I'm getting into," he explained. "Obviously, I'm taking on their criticism heavily and I'm going to try and align that with the next dance that we do. But I think it's very important to try and still incorporate a sense of myself within the dances too."
"Because if I go through this competition trying to be a ballroom and Latin boy, which has never, ever been me, then I might not have fun because I'm shaping myself to be something I'm not. So, I think it is important to still keep freestyle elements, for example, to just show my character and show what I like to do. I'm doing Strictly Cach-style!"
Rollercoaster journey on the show
The pair have faced criticism from the judges for not sticking to traditional techniques, turning Cach's Strictly journey into a rollercoaster. The judges lavished praise on his Argentine tango and Frank Sinatra foxtrot before he plummeted to the bottom of the leaderboard last weekend. "It's not nice to be in the dance off," he admits. "But after the judges' scoring, I did expect it, I had a feeling."
Having focused on improving his heel-leads and footwork, Cach says: "Surprisingly, I think I was more relaxed in the dance off. Maddie shook me out the back before we went on and was like, just have fun. She's amazing, it was as hard for her as it was for me. There's a lot of pressure on her, especially as it's her first year. A lot of people are questioning her ability, but this girl knows her stuff."
He said it had been hard to dance against actress Bethany Antonia, who he was close to. "I'm very grateful to still be here," he says. "You just have to move past it and go into the new week with a new mindset."
From street dancing to the ballroom
Cach has had heat on him from the start because he is a self-taught street dancer with a big following on social media. His obvious talent has left some viewers questioning whether he has an unfair advantage over some of the other celeb contestants. But he insists the transition to ballroom is far harder than people realise. "I have to unlearn a lot of things that I do in my dance to then cater to this new style."
The London-born star admits he still struggles to believe he belongs in the Strictly ballroom, because behind his confident performances is a young man who was bullied at school and struggled with shyness. He reveals: "I've danced in car parks and on the street my whole life, so to get here means a lot. I'm a boy from the ends and now I'm in some ballroom shoes and some tight suit tops. Imposter syndrome is very present right now. I was a shy kid, I couldn't speak to a girl for anything! I just got too nervous. I actually got bullied at school. I cried a lot."
But the one thing that helped him through it all was his hip-hop hobby. "I love dancing more than anything else in this entire world. There was a drive in me that wanted to get really good. I've never been the best about communicating how I feel but as soon as I dance, I feel like you can really see how I feel."
Life after Love Island and Strictly future
Cach first found fame when he entered the Love Island villa as a Casa Amor bombshell last year. He went on to win the ITV dating show alongside Toni Laites, with the pair sharing the £50,000 prize before their relationship fizzled out. Having become known to millions for his romantic adventures, Cach is delighted that Strictly has given him the chance to show the public a different side to his personality. "I'm so happy people are asking me what my next dance is, instead of who am I dating," he laughs.
Cach's close partnership with Maddie, the show's youngest pro at just 21, has prompted some fans to wonder whether their chemistry extends beyond the dance floor. Branding his social media followers "hopeless romantics" he insists they are concentrating on their dancing. "We've seen some of the comments and stuff, but yeah, we don't read into it too much. We're just doing our thing."
While the pair have endured criticism - him for his street-style and her for her choreography - Cach is full of admiration for "really special" Maddie, an eight-time world dance champion who is competing in her first Strictly series. "She puts her all into the dance. She's very sweet." He said their Argentine tango for Halloween, which scored 33 points, was a high point. "I didn't know what to do with myself, I'm not going to lie," he laughs. "I felt a little bit emotional."
For now, Cach is determined to make the most of every moment he has left in the competition and he knows there is no guarantee of another week in the ballroom. Whatever happens, he's determined that viewers will remember him for being himself. As he puts it: "I just want to leave everything on that dance floor."
