Balvinder Sopal’s Strictly Come Dancing journey has felt cruel and unjustified

Tonight we reach closer to the Strictly Come Dancing quarter-finals, and Balvinder Sopal is widely tipped as the next elimination.

After four dance-offs, she seems the obvious choice. Only Amber Davies has faced the bottom two from the remaining contestants, and especially after La Voix’s withdrawal, every contestant has a legitimate shot at the final. 

The only real outsider is the EastEnders star. Not because she doesn’t deserve her place, but because the public simply hasn’t backed her.

So unfortunately I don’t see her pulling off Jamie Laing’s impressive feat, who was in four dance off’s, but still made the final in 2020.

In the second elimination show, she landed in the bottom two. Her Movie Week Foxtrot to The Way You Look Tonight scored a respectable 26. It may not have been as memorable as Lewis Cope’s Paso Doble, which scored the first 10 of the series, but it was far from the weakest performance of the night. 

She survived her first dance-off, not knowing it would be the first of many. The following week, she was in the middle of the leaderboard but back in the bottom two despite much weaker performances.

Stefan Dennis’s Charleston to the single most irritating song of the century, Dance Monkey, was both painful and forgettable, Harry Aikens-Aryeetey’s Rumba lacked technical skill, La Voix earned the lowest Week 4 score in the show’s history, and even Karen Carney had an uncharacteristically poor Quickstep.

One theory I’ve seen is that being in the dance-off so often denies Balvinder the chance to be interviewed by Claudia Winkleman during the results show, limiting her visibility. The public hasn’t gotten to know her as well as we should have. 

I’ve also seen many comments echoing: ‘I like her… but she’s not memorable.’

Yet all of the routines mentioned above were forgettable, and still somehow outperformed her in the public vote.

I didn’t know much about Balvinder before this series. But of all this year’s contestants I was unfamiliar with, she’s among the ones I’ve become most invested in. 

Her improvement has been one the best of this series, each week sparing no effort, and she feels like one of the few celebrities I’ve genuinely enjoyed getting to know.

Last Saturday in Blackpool, she delivered an extraordinary Argentine Tango. At one moment she was launched into the air by her partner Julian Callion and spun like a Catherine wheel – arguably the most difficult and spectacular lift of the night. 

She was sexy, ferocious, and proved she has the skill to be a frontrunner.

Had La Voix not withdrawn due to injury, I hope Balvinder might have avoided the dance-off entirely, leaving the drag performer and Alex Kingston – whose routine was one of her weaker ones – to face the judges instead.

Perhaps that’s wishful thinking.

So far, there have been two dances that will define this series: Karen’s unexpectedly brilliant Week One Jive, and Lewis Cope’s flawless Couple’s Choice from Halloween Week. But outside of those, Balvinder has also delivered some of the most moving, heartfelt moments of the season.

Her Couple’s Choice, bringing Bollywood magic to the dance floor, was a standout – authentic, challenging, and deeply emotional, dedicated to her late mum.

It earned 34 points, her highest score to date, and ensured that she justly avoided the bottom two. It felt like she was turning a corner… until history repeated itself the following Saturday.

If she lands in the dance-off again this weekend, she’ll tie singer Jamelia’s unwanted record for most appearances in the bottom two. Jamelia didn’t survive her fifth; it’s hard to imagine Balvinder will either.

But despite her unfair consistency in the bottom two, Balvinder has reached the top six – a huge achievement that only highlights her resilience and proves she shouldn’t have been anywhere near the dance-off until at least the halfway point.

It is probably inevitable that she’ll leave this Sunday. Compared to the remaining celebrities, it may well be her time. 

But she has absolutely earned her spot in the top six, and the frequency with which she’s been dragged into the dance-off feels undeserved and frankly cruel.

It’s genuinely heartbreaking that each week she’s had to face the mental strain of possible elimination, regardless of the quality of her performance.

When Vicky Pattison was eliminated in Week 8, the public outcry was immense. She was popular, improving steadily, and had even topped the leaderboard the week before. But ultimately, she was weaker than Balvinder when it counted, and her exit – though shocking – was fair.

Still, the uproar overshadowed Balvinder’s success in a way that felt unfairly dismissive.

I’m not suggesting Balvinder should never have been in the dance-off. Twice, it was understandable. What alarms me is how quickly she ended up there – and how often – at times when it was so clearly undeserved and nonsensical.

I only hope Balvinder herself doesn’t define her journey by those dance-offs. I can’t imagine how rattling it must be, but she should be celebrated for her grit, her vulnerability, and her refusal to look defeated. 

I look forward to seeing her perform this Saturday, especially with the newly announced Instant Dance Challenge, where couples will have ten seconds to put a performance together. 

This could be her chance to go out in style, and finally be appreciated by the public. 

Balvinder has given Strictly everything she’s got – and that deserves recognition.

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