Strictly Come Dancing is pushing EastEnders actor James Bye to his limit as he admits he is ‘in pain for the neck down’.
Just over a month into the competition, the intense training schedule has clearly caught up with Bye as he’s revealed that his whole body is feeling the effects of learning a new dance routine every week.
Speaking to Ranvir Singh on Lorraine on Thursday morning, Bye was asked ‘what bits’ of his body are hurting, when he responded saying that it all was.
‘I am not an athlete by any stretch of the imagination and Amy is pretty strict with it so she won’t let me get away with faxing it in, so I am in pain from the neck down,’ the actor said.
As Singh, who appeared on the 18th season in 2020 told him though, ‘that is just the Strictly way I’m afraid’.
‘I remember Anton saying to me that if you aren’t in pain then you aren’t doing it right,’ she recalled.
‘So you are doing something right.’
Appearing on the talk show with his dance partner Amy Dowden, the pair also spoke about their excitement for this weekend’s episode, where Strictly is set to honour the BBC centenary by having the couples perform to either an iconic BBC theme tune or dance in tribute to one of the BBC’s most loved services.
Bye and Dowden will be doing a Foxtrot to the EastEnders theme tune, which Dowden said was an ‘honour’.
‘This is so special because James has been in the show for so many years, but also many of the cast have been on Strictly as well,’ she said.
‘We’ve gone for a bit of drama and emotion and obviously the content of the foxtrot,’ she said, before adding that she’s been feeling the pressuring choreographing ‘the best routine possible because I know how important it is to James as well’.
‘Honestly I can’t wait for Saturday. Normally you get nervous, but this week I am really excited,’ Bye added.
While he said that he thought this dance was ‘going to be the easy one’, it had been the one that had left him in ‘more pain’ than the Tango and the Quickstep.
But he added that he was looking forward to playing a part in recognising the public broadcaster.
‘I know it’s amazing. I can’t tell you how honoured I am to be representing EastEnders in such an iconic year and to be doing something that has never been done on Strictly before, ‘he said.
When told they would be dancing to the theme tune, Bye said they didn’t know how they would be able to pull it off, but teased there were a few ‘tricks’ up their sleeve and that it ‘wouldn’t be the normal EastEnders tune that everyone would expect’.
‘There are some surprises along the way and that is why I am so excited.’
He did add that he still felt some stress about taking to the dance floor.
‘The nerves are always going to be there, but what happens is I think you get a bit more confident each week and you feel more excited, so for me I am just enjoying it more and more.’
Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday at 6.30pm on BBC Two and iPlayer. Lorraine airs weekdays at 9am on ITV.
