Lorraine Kelly takes swipe at Strictly 2025 after fiery debate: ‘I’m not invested’ 

Lorraine Kelly has taken a swipe at this year’s Strictly Come Dancing line-up while interviewing Ross King, who was eliminated on Sunday night.

During the latest BBC results show, King wound up in the bottom two with his pro partner, Jowita Przystał, with the pair going up against EastEnders actress Balvinder Sopal and her partner Julian Caillon.

Following the dance-off, the judges voted unanimously to save Sopal and Caillon, bringing the TV presenter’s time in the competition to an end.

King’s elimination comes following intense debate about the inclusion of celebrities in the cast who have past dance experience, with West End performer Amber Davies and former Emmerdale actor Lewis Cope frequently being mentioned.

On Monday’s episode of Lorraine, the host was speaking to her colleague King when she called out ‘the standard’ of celebrities in the line-up.

‘There’s too many trained dancers in it for me,’ she said.

‘The reason I enjoy the show is to watch people like you, getting better and better and better.’ 

Kelly added: ‘To me that’s what the show’s about.

‘In my opinion, there’s too many experienced people, and it’s kinda like, ok, that’s great, but I’m not invested, and I’m not thinking, “Go for it!”’  

Following King’s exit from Strictly, he shared an emotional post on Instagram, in which he paid tribute to his professional dance partner and how much he’d enjoyed his time on the series.

‘There aren’t enough words to express my gratitude for this amazing opportunity,’ he wrote alongside several pictures from this weekend’s show.

‘Thank you to everyone who has been on this journey with me – the Strictly cast and crew, friends, family, my wonderful dance partner Jowita, and most importantly, to the fans.

‘You kept me inspired with your kind words and kept me in the competition with your votes. I hope like me, you’ve been inspired to try something new and as always, keep dancing!’

Controversy this year has come after a couple of original cast members had to drop out before the live shows due to health reasons.

TV personality Dani Dyer had to drop out after fracturing her ankle in rehearsals. She said in a statement at the time that she was ‘heartbroken’ but would be ‘cheering all the couples on.’  

Ex-Love Islander and West End performer Davies took Dyer’s spot and has impressed judges with her dancing alongside Nikita Kuzmin.  

Some cast members were reportedly furious with Amber’s casting due to her past dance experience on the West End, according to The Sun.  

Davies defended herself, saying: ‘Ballroom and Latin are worlds apart from what I’ve experienced on a West End stage.’  

Emmerdale’s Cope also received a similar backlash due to his dancing history. The soap star also has experience on the West End, having landed a role in Billy Elliot at age 11. 

Cope stepped in after Game of Thrones actor Kristian Nairn withdrew for medical reasons.

He stressed to Metro that he hadn’t formally trained since and said: ‘To call me professionally trained or a professional dancer seems a bit bizarre, especially now that I’m working with these pros on the show.’  

King and his professional partner Jowita Przystał left the show on Movie Week after performing a Paso Doble dressed as Thunderbirds puppets.  

On Saturday’s show, Cope received the first 10 of the series, from guest judge, Cynthia Erivo. 

Both Cope and Davies are top of the leaderboards after week three, when combining all of their scores so far.

Strictly Come Dancing airs Saturday nights on BBC One.  

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