Tonight we inch closer to the Strictly Come Dancing quarter-finals, and Balvinder Sopal is tipped to be the next elimination.
After four dances, he seemed like the right choice. Only Amber Davies faced the bottom two of the remaining contestants, and especially after La Voix’s withdrawal, every contestant had a legitimate shot at the final.
The only outsiders are EastEnders stars. Not because he doesn’t deserve his position, but because society doesn’t support him.
So unfortunately I didn’t see him perform the impressive feat of Jamie Laing, who was in four dance offs, but still reached the final in 2020.
In the second elimination event, he landed in the bottom two. His Film Week Foxtrot to The Way You Look Tonight scored 26. This may not have been as impressive as Lewis Cope’s Paso Doble, which scored 10 in the first series, but it was far from the weakest performance of the night.
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She survived her first dance, not knowing that it would be the first of many. The following week, he was in the middle of the leaderboard but returned to the bottom two despite a much weaker performance.
Stefan Dennis’ Charleston to the single most annoying song of the century, Dance Monkey, was both painful and forgettable, Harry Aikens-Aryeetey’s Rumba lacked technical skill, La Voix had the lowest Week 4 score in the show’s history, and even Karen Carney had a very bad Quickstep.
One theory I’ve seen is that participating in the dance-off often denied Balvinder the opportunity to be interviewed by Claudia Winkleman during the results show, thereby limiting his visibility. The public doesn’t know him as well as they should.
I also saw a lot of comments echoing: ‘I like him… but he’s not memorable.’
Yet all of the aforementioned routines can be forgotten, and somehow still outperform him in the public vote.
I didn’t know much about Balvinder before this series. But of all the contestants this year that I didn’t know, he was the one I was most interested in.
Her development is one of the best in the series, every week she goes all out, and she feels like one of the few celebrities I actually enjoy getting to know.
Last Saturday in Blackpool, he performed a wonderful Argentinian Tango. At one point he was launched into the air by his partner Julian Callion and spun like a Catherine wheel – arguably the most difficult and spectacular lift of the night.
She’s sexy, fierce, and proves she has the skills to be at the top.
Had La Voix not been pulled out with injury, I would have expected Balvinder to avoid the dance-off entirely, leaving the drag performers and Alex Kingston – whose routine was one of the weakest – to face the judges.
Maybe it’s just wishful thinking.
So far, there are two dances that will define this series: Karen’s unexpectedly brilliant Week One Jive, and Lewis Cope’s perfect Couple’s Choice from Halloween Week. But beyond all that, Balvinder also delivered some of the most moving and heartfelt moments of the season.
Her Partner’s Choice, bringing Bollywood magic to the dance floor, was a standout – authentic, challenging and deeply emotional, dedicated to her late mother.
This resulted in 34 points, his highest score to date, and ensured that he avoided the bottom two. It felt like he was turning the corner…until history repeated itself the following Saturday.
If she takes part in the dance-off again this weekend, she will equal singer Jamelia’s unwanted record for most appearances in the bottom two. Jamelia did not survive the fifth; it’s hard to imagine Balvinder would too.
But despite his unfair consistency in the bottom two, Balvinder has reached the top six – a huge achievement that only highlights his resilience and proves that he should not be anywhere near a dance-off until at least the halfway point.
It was probably inevitable that he would leave this Sunday. Compared to other celebrities, maybe this is it.
But he’s definitely earned his place in the top six, and the frequency with which he’s dragged into prom feels inappropriate and downright cruel.
It’s heartbreaking that every week he has to deal with the mental stress of being eliminated, regardless of the quality of his performance.
When Vicky Pattison was eliminated in Week 8, the public outcry was enormous. He was popular, steadily rising, and had even topped the leaderboard the previous week. But ultimately, he was weaker than Balvinder in this regard, and his exit – although surprising – was a natural one.
However, the fuss overshadows Balvinder’s success in a way that feels unfairly dismissive.
I am not suggesting that Balvinder should not take part in the dance party. Twice, it’s understandable. What worries me is how quickly he gets there – and how often – at a time when it is clearly inappropriate and unreasonable.
I just hope Balvinder himself doesn’t define his journey by that dance. I can’t imagine how shocking that was, but she deserves to be applauded for her tenacity, her vulnerability, and her refusal to appear defeated.
I’m looking forward to her performance this Saturday, especially with the newly announced Instant Dance Challenge, where couples have ten seconds to perform together.
This could be his chance to look stylish, and finally be appreciated by the public.
Balvinder has given Strictly everything he’s got – and that deserves recognition.
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