Strictly's Lewis Cope Takes Home The Glitterball Trophy in Newcastle
Three North East celebrities dominated the dancefloor when the Strictly Come Dancing Live Tour waltzed its way to Newcastle's Utilita Arena
Excitement filled the air as Strictly fans of all ages headed to the arena to see their favourite stars from the most recent series of Strictly Come Dancing. Bringing everything we love about the BBC show to the arena, celebrities and their dance partners performed two of their favourite routines from the show before we, the audience, could choose our winner for the evening by voting via text. Plus, previous finalist and West End star Layton Williams joined the tour cast to perform two energetic routines with pro Nikita Kuzmin, and joined in the Strictly pros’ Britney Spears-inspired dance. The pro routines throughout the show were impressive and getting to see them perform up close was amazing – even the judges took to the floor. One lucky fan got a signed football from Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink!
Craig Revel Horwood, Anton Du Beke and Shirley Ballas were as sassy as ever, critiquing and scoring the dancers but also having fun with them – especially Teesside drag queen La Voix who’s never afraid to bat back. Craig referred to her as a Poodle when La Voix was dressed as Cher, to which she retorted that Craig must be a Rottweiler. La Voix’s dancing however has definitely improved since she was forced to leave last year’s competition with an injury just before Blackpool. Her Queen of Hearts-themed Halloween Paso Doble was faultless and even her singing was brilliant before her Salsa to Cher’s Strong Enough with pro Aljaž Škorjanec. Host Janette Manrara had some playful banter with her husband Aljaž prior to the judge’s comments.
It’s no surprise La Voix had plenty of support from a Newcastle audience, and Geordie Vicky Pattison did too. Not only from fans – she also pointed out that her family, and some of pro partner Kai Widdrington’s family, were in the audience supporting too. Bringing her infectious energy to her hometown, we loved watching her perform her couple’s choice to Cheryl’s Fight For This Love and their Tango to Taylor Swift’s Ophelia brought the drama. She said she’d be ‘buzzing like an old fridge’ to win the glitterball trophy in her hometown and reminisced about watching gigs at the arena, never expecting to perform there herself. Even other cast members were keen to support the Northern celebrities at home with Gladiator Harry Aikines-Aryeetey encouraging the audience to vote for Vicky – and yes, he did treat us to that impressive press-up with Karen standing on his back! (Janette had a go too).
Sorry to Vicky and La Voix but we were most excited for what was by far one of the best dances of the series – Hartlepool’s Lewis Cope and pro Katya Jones’s couple’s choice to Creep by Radiohead. First up was their Charleston to I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor, and indeed they did (complete with Lewis’s dive through Katya’s legs). Their couple’s choice however was the show stealer and it’s no surprise the audience voted him as the evening’s winner. The result seemed to be a close call between Lewis and Vicky though!
The tour is the perfect chance to experience what the show is all about. While we hope to be in the audience at Blackpool one day, it was a joy to see three Northern talents perform at home.
