'A lot of memories have been made in Blackpool': an exclusive chat with Strictly's Lewis Cope & Katya Jones
Ahead of their performance in Blackpool this weekend, Lewis Cope and Katya Jones chatted to us all about.
Strictly Come Dancing returns to the iconic Blackpool Tower Ballroom floor this weekend.
One of the seven couples taking to the hallowed floor is Hartlepool born Emmerdale star Lewis Cope and his professional partner, Katya Jones.
On their first morning in our seaside town, Lewis and Katya sat down for a chat with our celebrity reporter so see what they had to say next...
You can also read the interview with George Clarke and Alexis Warr here.
How do you feel about making it to Blackpool week?
Lewis: “It just feels like such an achievement to get here and to come to Blackpool to dance where you know, dance is so wildly renowned here. It just feels a bit surreal for me.”
Has Katya impressed on you how much of a pinnacle it is in the Strictly calendar?
Katya: “Yeah! I said this to him, I mean, last Saturday night, literally, the studio in Elstree was taken apart. Everybody was like ‘leave the stage’. Everything is taken, packed up and Strictly is coming to Blackpool. And it just gives the whole town so much buzz as well. You know, the illumination goes on, everybody's talking about it everywhere, like every cab driver, every person on the street. It just brings so much Strictly sparkle to it so it makes it feel even more important than it already is.”
Lewis: “There’s definitely a buzz in the air.”
So what can the people of Blackpool expect from your performance?
Lewis: “The Charleston! But obviously, with it being Blackpool, we’ve got an extra six dancers with us. We had a rehearsal with them yesterday, and they're amazing. It just really lifts the routine. And the dance, I think with it being a Charleston, there;s the playfulness and the funness of the dance. It's just perfect, isn't it?
Katya: “It's great for the Blackpool Tower Ballroom as well because it's so big and you really have to fill the room with your presence, with your energy. And it's already probably the most complex routine I've ever done on Strictly myself.”
Is there a reason you've chosen Blackpool to be the place you do your most challenging dance yet?
Lewis: “That's a question for Katya!”
Katya: “Look, we are in week nine, and obviously Lewis has been doing so well, and I feel like naturally, the expectation of him is growing, but he's managing to deliver week after wek. I don't know how but you just have that special something. You know the mentality that there's no other way but to deliver which is incredible,and what we've been enjoying is people's feedback in terms of ‘I'm loving watching the performances. We're looking forward to what you two are going to bring.’
Lewis: “People have said that they like re watch our dancers like 10 times”
Katya: “So now, as a choreographer, I’m almost hooked on the fact that I want to give people something special again, and I want to give them a memorable routine that's really important for me - and also memorable for him! These couple of weeks will live on for the rest of your life, and that's something for me, I want to give that gift of a little treasure box.”
You spoke about how the Tower Ballroom will impact your performance but what about the different audience?
Lewis: “Possibly, I think there's more of them as well, it’s a bigger crowd. But the thing is, it’s so hard like it is literally the hottest ticket in town, isn't it? So I think the people who do get a chance to come and watch the show must be in super high spirits, and the atmosphere, even at Elstree is always electric. Everyone's so buzzing and happy to be there that their energy feeds into everyone else's dance. So it's super supportive. It's always a super lovely audience.”
Katya, you've made it to Blackpool Week many times, but Lewis, have you been to Blackpool before?
Lewis: “Yeah, I've been here bits and bobs, but not like not to this capacity, to be here for this crazy event, that I never thought in my life I would ever be a part of, it feels a bit surreal.”
When you say bits and bobs, can you talk me through some of your memories of Blackpool?
Lewis: “Obviously, I'm from Hartlepool so it's only like two and a half hours away. So it would be a place that I came to as a child. I can remember going to Pleasure Beach. I can remember there used to be a donkey, I don’t know if there still is? I also remember going on the tram so, I mean to come here now and dance on Strictly, it's just wow.”
And Katja, do you have a standout memory from Strictly at Blackpool?
Katya: “I guess my first performance with Ed [Balls, 2016]. The first is always special, and Ed's been supporting me ever since, as well. We've created a lovely relationship. I was just telling Lewis about the piano on fire! But you know, my Blackpool memories go way beyond that. It's been over 20 years since I first entered the Tower Ballroom for the Junior Championships, and me and Luba actually,another professional dancer, because we come from the same danceschool, so we've come to Blackpool multiple times since we were 14. Our first photo in the Blackboard Tower is really cute. So a lot of memories have been made in The tower, the Winter Gardens, around the strips of Blackpool Promenade. I remember really vividly, because National Championships is always in November, the weather is not always so warm and I just remember walking down the promenade not moving from the spot because the wind was so strong, but actually today it looks quite lovely.
Lewis: “Yeah there’s blue skies, it looks actually quite bright.”
So you've arrived in Blackpool already- have you got any plans for what you might get up to around Blackpool?
Lewis: “We are going to be doing some filming around Blackpool as well. So we've got the promenade at some point today, and we're basically flat out filming stuff for Strictly, but it does mean that we do get to see bits as well.”
Katya; “Yeah, we're doing fish and chips today! And don’t worry I’ll show you the Grand, the Winter Gardens.”
Katya, as you have performed at the Tower Ballroom before, are ther any tips that you think Lewis should know?
Katya: “There are a lot of steps, up and down, up and down, up and down. So as well as doing your hyper speed Charlestown, it's exhausting going up and down the stairs.”
Who do you think is your biggest competition for Blackpool week?
Lewis: “It's never really felt, between any of us, competitive like that. Everyone's so supportive and you know, our biggest competition is always yourself. Everyone just tries to better themselves every week. It's not competitive between us.”
Katya: “It's quite hard, because we all do different styles every week so you can't really compare one to another. I's more like everyone's looking forward to seeing the dances.”
Lewis: “Yeah, everyone's excited to see what they've been working on during the week, which is so lovely, because obviously it's a competition, but it doesn't feel like the competition.”
Lewis; “And you know what I love is, they're now little dancers, you know, they're not just contestants. So the other day, it was Amber and Lewis, and we said ‘oh, you guys did the same move in the cha, cha, cha’ and they, like, jumped up and did it together.”
Have you got a final message for people watching in Lancashire?
Lewis: “Just thank you. It's because of people who have voted that we’re here. It's the support and the love that spurs us on to dance every week. And yeah, thank you, because dancing is bringing me so much joy and hopefully you too.”
Katya: “And especially in the Tower Ballroom dancing, it will be one extra special dance for uso I just want everybody to have the best time watching it, and that's what we're going to do-bring the party!”