Lewis Cope is currently thrilling UK audiences with his dazzling dancing on BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing. The Emmerdale star is partnered with professional dancer Katya Jones and the fan-favorite pair have found themselves in the top end of the Leaderboard since the 2025 series began. They even topped the Leaderboard in Week 3 (a.k.a. Movies Week) with a captivating Paso Doble styled after The Mask of Zorro.
The pair also scored highly on this weekend's Week 4 show, performing a lovely Foxtrot to Nat King Cole's classic "L-O-V-E", which scored an impressive 34 points from the judges. It was an understated routine and the judges praised him for listening to the feedback they have been providing him with in the previous weeks.
However, something else about Lewis' segment got Strictly fans talking this weekend, with some of them very surprised by the cameo they weren't expecting.
The X Factor's Luke Friend appears on Strictly to support Lewis Cope
This week on Strictly, Lewis opened up to viewers about his life in the VT prior to his performance. During that conversation, he took Katya to meet some of his friends - one of which looked very familiar to longtime UK TV viewers. Simply billed as "Luke", the young man was none other than Luke Friend - the same Luke Friend who made it all the way to The X Factor final in 2013.
Fans quickly took to social media, with one user on X (formerly Twitter) saying "Gobsmacked at X Factor star Luke Friend appearing as Lewis Cope's friend in his Strictly VT". Another said that they were "not expecting Luke Friend from X Factor 2013 fame" to appear in the VT. And another simply posted in all caps: "WAS THAT LUKE FRIEND OFF X FACTOR".
Gobsmacked at X Factor star Luke Friend appearing as Lewis Cope's friend in his Strictly VT pic.twitter.com/ASFe5g5Uvh
— The Kid JOSEPH (@JosephStyles11) October 18, 2025
Known for his powerful voice and signature long hair, Luke wowed fans with his performances of One Direction's "What Makes You Beautiful", Bon Iver's "Skinny Love", Seal's "Kiss From A Rose", and Beyoncé's "Best Thing I Never Had", but it was his performance of Mumford and Sons' "I Will Wait" that absolutely brought the house down (and has rightfully gone down in X Factor history as one of its best ever performances).
You can relive that epic one below:
Luke made it all the way to the final, performing "Anything Can Happen" with Ellie Goulding, and he ultimately finished third in the competition. Sam Bailey would go on to win, with Nicholas McDonald being the runner-up. He went on to release singles "Hole In My Heart" (which made the Top 40 in the UK Singles Chart) and "Take On The World" and has since appeared on stage in the musicals American Idiot and Mamma Mia! The Party.
Appearing alongside actor Stevie Ruffs, Luke wished Lewis well for Strictly, saying that he is confident that he will give it his all week in and week out. It's safe to say that he's correct in that given how Lewis has performed throughout the competition thus far.
It goes without saying that it was great to see Luke back on our TV screens!
Strictly Come Dancing airs on BBC One every Saturday evening.