Meet James Bye: Strictly Come Dancing 2022 contestant

They ended the week in 11th place, sneaking ahead of Tony Adams and Katya Jones.

Will they be able to turn things around in Halloween week? This time, all the Strictly Come Dancing 2022 songs and dances will have a spooky touch, and James will be performing a Charleston to Bumble Bee by Lavern Baker.

We can’t wait to see what the pair (and the rest of the Strictly Come Dancing 2022 line-up) bring to the ballroom for week 6, but in the mean time, here’s your need to know on James Bye and his Strictly journey so far.

Who is James Bye?

Age: 38

Job: Actor

Instagram: @jimmybye

Twitter: @jimmybye

Hailing from Basingstoke, England, James Bye began his screen career with roles in The Bill, Cemetery Junction and Jason Statham action flick Hummingbird.

However, he came to national attention after joining the cast of BBC soap opera EastEnders, taking over the role of Martin Fowler in 2014 (a character previously portrayed by James Alexandrou and Jon Peyton-Price).

Since joining the cast, he has been in contention for two British Soap Awards – Best Actor and Best On-Screen Partnership (with Lacey Turner), while he also made a guest appearance at 2016's Children in Need.

Bye's other projects include drama series The Great Train Robbery and comedy film The Hooligan Factory, while he also has a background in the theatre.

James's Strictly journey

Scoreboard

Week One: Jive (6+5+5+6) = 22

Week Two: Tango (5+6+6+7) = 24

Week Three: Cha Cha Cha(4+6+6+6) = 22

Week Four: Quickstep (8+8+8+8) = 32

Week Five: Foxtrot (6+7+6+7) = 26

Bye kicked things off with a Jive to What I Like About You in Week 1, receiving a score of 22, before improving slightly the following Saturday with a Tango to Ed Sheeran's Bad Habits.

The actor scored 22 points on the Strictly Come Dancing 2022 leaderboard in his third week, putting him in 11th place in the competition, but then stepped things up considerably, receiving 32 points for a energetic Quickstep and earning some praise from the judges for his improved posture.

Bye paid tribute to his day job with a Foxtrot to Julia's Theme from EastEnders in Week 5, which earned him 26 points from the judges, a mark which put him in second to last place.

It was clearly an emotional routine for the soap star, who got choked up as he explained to Tess Daly how much the show means to him.

He'll be hoping to continue stepping things up as we move into Week 5, though Bye has already revealed that he's "in pain from the neck down" thanks to some intense Foxtrot training.

What has James Bye said about joining Strictly 2022?

When news broke of Bye's involvement in Strictly, he said via Instagram: "This has been so hard to keep a secret but it’s such a relief to be able to finally reveal that I will be smashing around the ballroom in this years Strictly," he began.

"I feel so honoured to be part of such an amazing show and incredible group of people and I can’t wait to get started! Some big shoes to fill but hopefully I can do my family back in Walford proud. Wish me luck!"

Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday 29th October at 6:50pm and on Sunday 30th October at 7:20pm on BBC One. Check out more of our Entertainment coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what's on tonight.

The latest issue of Radio Times magazine is on sale now – subscribe now and get the next 12 issues for only £1. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the Radio Times View From My Sofa podcast.