James Jordan, a former professional dancer from “Strictly Come Dancing,” has shed light on the contestants of this year’s series who possess professional dance training.

This season, West End performer Amber Davies, 29, has been at the center of controversy due to her extensive dance background. However, according to James, she isn’t the lone contestant with such a past. He asserts that a number of participants have honed their skills through professional training over the years.

Having spent eight years competing on “Strictly,” James, now 47, claims his experience enables him to discern which celebrities have danced before simply by observing their performances on Saturday nights.

Among the contestants he identifies is 62-year-old actress Alex Kingston, who has not only topped the leaderboard but also achieved perfect scores and received a kiss from head judge Shirley Ballas, indicating her impressive skill level.

James also points to Emmerdale actor Lewis Cope, 30, and YouTube sensation George Clarke, 25, suggesting their complex routines hint at prior dance training, especially when compared to some of their counterparts in the competition.

Speaking exclusively to the Daily Mail, James said Alex’s experience was evident during her rumba last week, when she and partner Johannes were praised for their show-stopping performance.

Former Strictly Come Dancing professional James Jordan has revealed which contestants on this year’s series have professional dance training (pictured September 2024)

This year’s competition has seen West End star Amber Davies face backlash for her previous dance experience but James insists she isn’t the only one

Among them, he believes, is actress Alex Kingston, who has already topped the leaderboard, earned full marks, and even received a kiss from head judge Shirley Ballas 

James said: ‘We can’t forget there are a lot of people on the show who have had extensive dance training even when you take last week’s rumba with Johannes, Alex has clearly had dance training. 

‘I can say categorically whatever anyone says she has had dance training. As a professional dancer, I know what you can and can’t do as a non dancer.

‘So, there’s Amber who has had dance training, Lewis, George, I don’t know, but I assume he has. 

‘Then you can see the contestants who haven’t had dance training. There are some things that Lewis does, for example that when I was on tour, five of us as professional dancers, me, Brendan Cole, Vincent Simone, Ian Waite, Pasha Kovalev, and he was doing things that we couldn’t do in our day. 

‘He is trained in different forms of dancing because he was doing things we wouldn’t be able to do. Then you have some poor bugger on there that can’t clap in time to the music because they can’t hear the rhythm.’ 

While James says he appreciates celebrities with professional dance training taking part in Strictly, he admits those contestants ultimately have an advantage over anyone without a performance background.  

He said: ‘Whatever anyone says, there will clearly be a massive advantage over those people who aren’t dance trained. 

‘The judges often say the public decides and they have 50 per cent of the vote. But if you’re top of the leaderboard, it’s almost impossible to drop into the dance off. 

James suspects Emmerdale actor Lewis Cope (pictured) and YouTube star George Clarke have prior dance experience, judging by the complexity of their routines 

While James says he appreciates celebrities with dance training taking part in Strictly, he admits those contestants have an advantage over anyone without a performance background 

‘For someone who isn’t dance trained and is towards the bottom of the leaderboard, they need the public support to save them. 

‘If a really good dancer ends up in the bottom two, then they will be saved by the judges. So, it does make a massive difference.

‘Strictly is having more and more people on the show now with more dance training than there ever was back in my day. 

‘I would say that contestants on Strictly now are people who have taught dancing, been in west end shows dancing for years and years, so it’s never going to be a level playing field but that’s also the beauty of the show. 

‘I’m not saying it as a negative or that we shouldn’t have people on that have had dance training. I just think if you do go on the show and have had dance training there will be backlash. It’s just one of those things because you have an advantage.’  

James, who was speaking exclusively with Freebets.com, the home of the best betting sites, where he works as the entertainment betting expert, says that from his analysis of the show, he believes the Strictly judges are often more critical of the female contestants.

The judging panel is made up of Motsi Mabuse, Craig Revel Horwood, Anton Du Beke and head judge Shirley, while Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman, who announced this week that they will step down at the end of the series, serve as hosts.

He said: ‘For some reason they always seem to pick on the girls, I don’t know why, they never pick on the boys for having dance training. 

James, who is married to fellow professional dancer Ola Jordan, says that from his analysis of the show, he believes the Strictly judges are often more critical of the female contestants

James said he has some idea of what it feels like to be trolled, recalling his partnership with Denise Van Outen on Strictly in 2012, when she was also criticised for having a dance background 

‘I will tell you why, it’s because women are jealous. That is what it is. Women are jealous of other women being successful and then you have a couple of good-looking guys on the show who have had dance training, but we say nothing.’ 

James said he has some idea of what it feels like to be trolled, recalling his partnership with Denise Van Outen on Strictly in 2012, when she was also criticised for having a dance background. 

He added that negative messages can affect a contestant’s mindset on the show, making them feel unsupported by viewers. 

‘I only really experienced a backlash once and it’s just one of those things that is disappointing for the partnership in general, he said. 

‘You feel that people don’t like you and they’re not supporting you because of that. It’s a kick in the teeth and you’re going into the training room thinking we can’t win if we’re too good. 

‘People don’t see the sweat and tears that go into a performance. When I was training with Denise, we would sometimes do 10-12 hours of training a day to go out there. 

‘We were training hard because the expectation was so high. The dancers with professional training, once they go out there and they’re good and people know you have dance training, they expect it to be amazing every week.’