'Real reason' Strictly star Balvinder Sopal keeps landing in the dance-off

Brendan Cole insists Balvinder's days 'will be numbered'
Fabio Magnocavallo
By Fabio Magnocavallo

Strictly pro Brendan Cole has revealed why he thinks Balvinder Sopal keeps landing in the bottom two in an exclusive interview with our sister site Entertainment Daily.

The EastEnders star is paired with Julian Caillon, who joined as a professional dancer this year alongside Alexis Warr.

On Sunday (November 2), Balvinder and Julian landed themselves in the bottom two with Ellie Goldstein and Vito Coppola. The panel of judges unanimously decided to save the actress over Ellie.

Balvinder Sopal and Julian Caillon on Strictly
Balvinder and Julian have been in the bottom two three times (Credit: BBC)

Strictly star Balvinder Sopal branded ‘middle of the range’

It was the third time Balvinder and Julian had faced the dance off. Despite avoiding the bottom of the leaderboard, it clearly wasn’t enough for the public to back Balvinder.

Speaking on behalf of Sky Vegas, Brendan told ED!: “There’s a possibility that Balvinder Sopal keeps landing in the bottom two as her partner’s not known – he’s brand new to the show.”

He also said there’s a chance it’s because “her dancing’s been okay, but not overwhelming”. Brendan added: “Some couples are having great weeks followed by bad ones, whereas she’s been middle of the range from the start.”

“Because her partner [Julian Caillon] is new, he doesn’t have that same following that a lot of Strictly viewers have with the pros they love to support. So, I’d say those two aspects combined make a difference. It wasn’t a great dance at the weekend, and there were some strong performances. It’s probably about right that she is down there.”

He also issued a warning to Balvinder after the number of dance-offs she’s had to deal with. “Unless she comes back with an amazing week, her days will be numbered,” Brendan insisted.

Brendan Cole on Lorraine
Brendan thinks Balvinder’s days ‘will be numbered’ (Credit: ITV)

‘They’ve not been particularly strong’

Despite never facing the dance off, Brendan is sure that Harry Aikines-Aryeetey and Karen Hauer will be in trouble this weekend.

They’ve not been particularly strong,” he said. “They were bottom of the leaderboard on Saturday and got saved, but that will only last so long.”

He also doesn’t have a lot of faith in Karen Carney and Carlos Gu, either.

“Karen and Carlos are slightly up against it. Their last dance was good, but if she has another ballroom number where she doesn’t hit the right position because of her injuries or her fused spine – which, of course, isn’t her fault – it just doesn’t look good, and people won’t respond well to that. So, they’re a potential for the dance-off too,” Brendan added.

Read more: Strictly star Ellie Goldstein’s future ‘revealed’ as she breaks silence on exit

Strictly continues on Saturday, November 8 at 6:25pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.