‘Unless she works hard on that, she won’t last very long’

Former Strictly pro Vincent Simone revealed he doesn’t have a lot of faith in EastEnders actress Balvinder Sopal in an exclusive interview with Entertainment Daily.

Over the weekend, all 15 celebrities performed for the first time during the show’s first live show of the series.

Actor Balvinder Sopal, who is paired with Julian Caillon, performed a samba to Shake Your Booty by KC & The Sunshine Band. They placed 11th on the leaderboard with 17 points.


Balvinder and Julian received 17 points on Saturday (Credit: BBC)

Strictly star Balvinder Sopal issued warning

Despite getting off to a good start, Vincent, who appeared on the show between 2006 and 2012, issued a warning to Balvinder while speaking to ED!

“There is nothing worse in dancing than when someone has pigeon toes, it’s just something we don’t accept in dancing,” he said on behalf of Paddy Power Games.

“So, unless she works hard on that, she won’t last very long.”

However, he admitted that Lorraine Hollywood reporter Ross King “is unfortunately the weakest link as he messed up the steps a little too much in his first dance”.

The Italian dancer insisted he is a “lovely man and he comes across very well, but unfortunately, it’s a dance show and we must showcase improvement”. As a result, Vincent believes he “might be the first to go”.


Vincent thinks Ross will be the first celebrity voted off (Credit: BBC)

‘The backlash that trained dancers get on Strictly is unfair’

This year, contestants Amber Davies and Lewis Cope have received criticism from viewers due to their previous dancing experience.

Amber is a regular in West End productions and competed on Dancing On Ice in 2024. Meanwhile, Lewis previously was a runner-up on Got To Dance in 2013.

The wife of 2025 contestant Chris Robshaw was one of many who hit back, declaring the “experience differences are absolutely wild”.

That said, Vincent insisted the backlash is totally “unfair”.

“The backlash that trained dancers get on Strictly is unfair. Both Amber and Lewis have been part of amazing theatre shows, how many other people can say that,” he said.

“But also, they give value to the show as we get to see a spectrum of experiences. A few skilled dancers are fine, as the majority of contestants have not danced before.”