{"id":1972984,"date":"2025-08-21T19:55:47","date_gmt":"2025-08-21T19:55:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=1972984"},"modified":"2025-08-21T19:55:47","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T19:55:47","slug":"kristian-nairns-strictly-come-dancing-replacement-announced-as-soap-star-whos-starred-in-billy-elliot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/kristian-nairns-strictly-come-dancing-replacement-announced-as-soap-star-whos-starred-in-billy-elliot\/","title":{"rendered":"Kristian Nairn&#8217;s Strictly Come Dancing replacement announced as soap star who&#8217;s starred in Billy Elliot"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<h2 class=\"LeadText_lead-text__wd_PA __className_09cdb8\" data-testid=\"leadtext\">A new celebrity has replaced Kristian Nairn on Strictly Come Dancing<\/h2>\n<div class=\"Byline_byline-container__K_Owl\" data-testid=\"byline\"><span data-testid=\"byline-content\" class=\"Byline_byline-content-wrapper__Imque\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"Byline_author-badge-date-wrapper__Q7jj1\">\n<p><span class=\"\" data-testid=\"byline-publishedDate\">19:37, 21 Aug 2025<\/span><span class=\"Byline_updated-date__8vEV8 Byline_updated-date-with-published__ApG_G\" data-testid=\"byline-updatedDate\">Updated 19:41, 21 Aug 2025<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-embed__0T8WX ImageEmbed_image-lead__Ti3qQ\" data-testid=\"leadimage\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.walesonline.co.uk\/article32326351.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s615\/0_IMG_5438.jpg\" alt=\"Man walking\" loading=\"eager\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.walesonline.co.uk\/article32326351.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s508\/0_IMG_5438.jpg 508w, https:\/\/i2-prod.walesonline.co.uk\/article32326351.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s615\/0_IMG_5438.jpg 615w,&#10;          https:\/\/i2-prod.walesonline.co.uk\/article32326351.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s1023\/0_IMG_5438.jpg 1023w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 508px) 508px, (max-width: 615px) 615px, 1023px\"\/><span class=\"ImageEmbed_camera-style__Qjeby\"><\/span><span class=\"ImageEmbed_caption-title__FSINC\">Lewis Cope is the latest Strictly Come Dancing celebrity<\/span><span class=\"ImageEmbed_caption-credit__uNiU6\">(Image: BBC)<\/span><\/div>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Drama has already hit the 2025 series of Strictly Come Dancing before the series has even begun on <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.walesonline.co.uk\/all-about\/bbc\" target=\"\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\">BBC<\/a> One. Game of Thrones star Kristian Nairn has pulled out of this year&#8217;s <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.walesonline.co.uk\/all-about\/strictly-come-dancing\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\">Strictly Come Dancing<\/a> &#8220;due to unexpected medical reasons&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">The 49-year-old expressed his disappointment, stating he was &#8220;truly looking forward&#8221; <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.walesonline.co.uk\/lifestyle\/tv\/strictly-come-dancing-celebrity-pulls-32324279\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\">to participating in the contest.<\/a> It has now been announced that Lewis Cope is replacing them on the dancing competition. They were announced as the new Strictly contestant on The One Show on Thursday, August 21.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Lewis is best known for his performance in <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.walesonline.co.uk\/all-about\/itv\" target=\"\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\">ITV<\/a>\u2019s Emmerdale as series regular Nicky Milligan, who in an explosive storyline was revealed to be a member of the series\u2019 iconic Tate and Dingle families.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Lewis was nominated for the Rising Star Award at the 2023 National Television Awards for the role.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Away from the Dales, Lewis\u2019 other television work includes roles in Vera, Mrs Sidhu Investigates, and Hetty Feather and he previously worked with David Beckham on an advertising campaign.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">On stage, Lewis has played the lead role of Leonard Vole in the Olivier-nominated Agatha Christie\u2019s Witness for the Prosecution, has toured the UK in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and, at the age of 11, he made his stage debut playing Michael in the West End smash Billy Elliot: The Musical.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">On joining Strictly Come Dancing, Lewis Cope says: &#8220;I&#8217;m so excited to be swapping the Dales for the dance floor and joining this year&#8217;s Strictly Come Dancing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">&#8220;I&#8217;ve always been a fan of the show and cannot wait to get started!&#8221;<u\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Lewis will dance on the show alongside previously announced celebrities: Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, Dani Dyer, Alex Kingston, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Balvinder Sopal, George Clarke, La Voix, Chris Robshaw, Ellie Goldstein, Thomas Skinner, Vicky Pattison, Stefan Dennis, Ross King and Karen Carney.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Best known for his role as Hodor in Game of Thrones, Kristian now hopes to be back on his feet soon. <strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\">For the latest TV and showbiz gossip <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.walesonline.co.uk\/newsletter-preference-centre\/?view=Solus&amp;mailingListId=73dc4ba7-03fe-43fb-8152-46228482c5b9&amp;utm_source=solusarticle\" target=\"\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\"><u>sign up to our newsletter<\/u><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">He had previously acknowledged that taking part in the show would pose a significant physical challenge.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">This comes after the actor has been candid about various health problems he has faced over the years.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Nairn revealed that his six-season stint on Game of Thrones resulted in a back issue.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Hodor was frequently seen carrying disabled Bran (Isaac Hempstead Wright) on his back on screen.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Nairn says this led to a pelvic tilt that required half a year of physiotherapy to correct.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Announcing his departure from the show, he stated: &#8220;With a heavy heart, I have to step back from this season of Strictly Come Dancing due to unexpected medical reasons.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">&#8220;I was truly looking forward to the journey, and I&#8217;m deeply sorry to disappoint anyone who was looking forward to seeing me on the dance floor.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">&#8220;Thank you all for your support, and I will be back on my feet very soon, in every sense. Love to all, Kristian.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.walesonline.co.uk \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A new celebrity has replaced Kristian Nairn on Strictly Come Dancing 19:37, 21 Aug 2025Updated 19:41, 21 Aug 2025 Lewis Cope is the latest Strictly Come Dancing celebrity(Image: BBC) Drama has already hit the 2025 series of Strictly Come Dancing before the series has even begun on BBC One. Game of Thrones star Kristian Nairn [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1972985,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25173],"tags":[25507,30156,351585],"class_list":["post-1972984","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-artists","tag-bbc","tag-strictly-come-dancing","tag-the-one-show"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Kristian-Nairns-Strictly-Come-Dancing-replacement-announced-as-soap-star.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1972984","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1972984"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1972984\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1972985"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1972984"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1972984"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1972984"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}