STRICTLY duo Lewis Cope and Katya Jones were seen having tense talks during a brief break from gruelling rehearsals this week.
With the next Strictly Come Dancing live show fast approaching, training week appears to be taking its toll on the celebrity-pro dancer pairings.
The talented pair have been practicing the notoriously difficult Rumba – which they’ll perform to Harry Styles‘ hit Falling.
An onlooker said looked serious as they stepped aside for a break from the studio.
Both dancers are known for pushing themselves hard and were likely ironing out dance moves as the pressure ramps up.
TV star Lewis sat with his arms crossed and was focused on Katya as she spoke.
The duo – who are favourites to reach the series – seemed deep in discussion, as the competition becomes even more demanding towards the finale.
It comes as the Emmerdale actor and Strictly legend Katya lit up the Blackpool Ballroom at the weekend, scoring a perfect 40 for their Charleston to I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor.
Former show star James Jordan called it one of the best performances in Strictly history.
And the ex-Strictly pro told The Sun Lewis is better than some of the pros currently on the show.
He thinks Lewis performed moves that “80 percent” of the male pros couldn’t do.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun, he said: “He is a fully-trained dancer. You cannot go out there and do what he’s doing unless you have f***ing loads of dance training.
“It would make our profession look like it’s really easy, and it’s not really easy, hence why people who have had no dance training are s**t in comparison.”
Hartlepool lad Lewis was a member of street dance troupe Ruff Diamond in his late teens.
The crew reached the final of Sky’s Got To Dance in 2013 and won numerous national dance championships.
James continued: “Honestly, if you watch that routine back from last week, he was as good, if not better, than Katya.
“And I can categorically say some of the stuff that he did, I would put my bottom dollar on it, 80 percent of the boy pros on that show couldn’t, and 100 percent of them couldn’t do the flips and tricks that he was doing, because we’re not trained in that.
“We’ve never done that before. If I tried to do some of the stuff he was doing, I’d break my spine.”
“I love it. I love watching him. I thought he was amazing. He’s, in my opinion, done two of the best dances ever seen on Strictly: his couple’s choice and the dance from last week. It was exceptional. But that’s only because he’s dance-trained.”
Also still vying for the highly coveted Glitterball trophy are EastEnders actress Balvinder Sopal, former England footballer Karen Carney, West End star Amber Davies, actress Alex Kingston and TikTok star George Clarke.
