Chloe Reynolds

Strictly Come Dancing has debuted their first-ever blind contestant on this year’s show – a huge step forward for representation.

But is it enough and can we always count on Strictly Come Dancing for representation?

Representation

Comedian Chris McCausland was the first contestant announced to be taking part in this year’s dancing competition, making him the first-ever blind contestant to take part in the show. His first dance alongside professional dance partner Dianne Buswell received a score of 23 points after performing a a Cha Cha to the Beatles’ version of Twist and Shout.

Chris told The Daily Mail: “I’ve never seen the show for obvious reasons. I can’t even go back and watch it to see what it involves, how intricate the dances are. All we can do is figure it out as we’re going along because I need to be in it and doing it to see what works and what doesn’t.”

Tasha Ghouri was also announced to be a contestant on this year’s show. She is known for being the first-ever deaf contestant on Love Island and will be Strictly’s second deaf contestant. Ghouri wears a Cochlear implant, and has had the device since she was five years old.

“All we can do is figure it out as we’re going along”

In 2021, Rose Ayling-Ellis became the first deaf contestant to compete on Strictly Come Dancing, performing some incredible routines. The most memorable routine is widely agreed to be her ‘Couple’s Choice’ dance with Giovanni Pernice.

Still A Long Way to Go

But in some ways, it still feels like our British show is miles behind its sister overseas.
The American show, Dancing with the Stars, had its first ever deaf contestant back in 2008. Nyle DiMarco, who uses American Sign Language to communicate, competed in Series 22. DiMarco had some struggles with ballroom routines, but excelled in Latin owing to the strong bass line and strong vibrations through the floor. DiMarco wowed fans and judges throughout the entire season, and went on to win the entire competition.

“It was still a huge step forward in terms of representation”

Dancing With the Stars also had the first ever blind contestant compete in 2018 with Danelle Umstead taking to the ballroom. She finished in 12th, but it was still a huge step forward in terms of representation.

But the BBC show is finally following in the American’s footsteps. Two of the professional dancers on the show also have disabilities. Nikita Kuzmin has type 1 diabetes and wears a Libre Sensor to monitor his blood sugar levels. The sensor can often be seen whilst on the show. Kuzmin talks about being diabetic regularly and often gets messages from people who are also diabetic who are inspired by him. Furthermore, Amy Dowden was diagnosed with Crohn’s when she was 19. She is an avid speaker of her Crohn’s and will often talk about the effect it has on her. She’s also an ambassador for this and Colitis UK, and even produced a documentary for the BBC entitled Amy Dowden Crohns and Me.

 

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A post shared by Nikita Kuzmin (@nikita__kuzmin)

Same-Sex Couples

This year, as there are more male than female contestants, so it seemed unlikely that there will be a same-sex pairing; something which has been so consistent over the last few years, and this would be correct.

The first ever same-sex couple was Nicola Adams and Katya Jones. This didn’t go down well with many viewers who thought the show was trying to be too modern. However, when TV chef John Whaite was partnered with Johannes Radebe the following year, fans couldn’t get enough of them.

“Representation is important for so many people”

Most recently, musical theatre star Layton Williams was partnered with Kuzmin. Williams was subject to vile abuse during the show centred around his skin colour and sexuality. Williams never let these trolls get to him, as he finished in second, narrowly missing out on the glitterball to Ellie Leach.

On Dancing With the Stars Ireland, during a switch-up week, where all the professionals and contestants change partners for the week, the celebrities got to choose their partners. TV presenter Brian Dowling chose Kai Widdrington, who is currently starring in the UK one. Lottie Ryan, a well-known Irish radio presenter, was with Emily Barker – this was the first time it was done in the history of the show and received an endless amount of praise.

The Importance of Representation

Representation is important for so many people. It allows them to be able to see themselves on a screen and that they can do anything. Seeing a man dance with another man on prime time TV demonstrates to queer kids that they can dance with another man, and that they are valued and that it is possible.

Similarly, a professional dancer wearing a Libre sensor and openly showing it off on his arm will show viewers that they are not limited; that having a condition or disability isn’t the end of the world and that they can be whatever they want to.

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Featured image courtesy of Honey Fangs on Unsplash. Image license can be found here. No changes have been made to this image.

Football journalism graduate, currently studying a masters in sports journalism

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