Strictly Come Dancing has made headlines in the past week after they announced their intentions to have their first competing same sex couple with boxer Nicola Adams. This news has been met with a wide variety of backlash and support from the LGBTQIA+ community. It has been speculated that the decision has been made after ITV debuted its first same sex pairing on Dancing on Ice – Steps member Ian ‘H’ Watkins and professional skater Matt Evers. However fans of the show will recognise that this move has been a long time coming. It won’t be the first time a same sex pair has appeared on Strictly.
The show featured a group dance routine in 2018 which climaxed with all of the professionals pairing up with a same sex partner.
Mixed reactions
The routine was received with a mix of praise and controversy as the nation entered into widespread discussion over whether or not Strictly should consider competing same sex couples in the future. In a Good Morning Britain discussion, former Strictly contestant Reverant Richard Coles spoke out against the idea for “aesthetic reasons”, while former Strictly judge Arlene Phillips spoke about a previous same sex dance featuring Anton Du Beke which she described as “stunning”. The ever-controversial Piers Morgan suggested that same sex couples would only work if both dancers were ‘gay’ because “you’ve got to have a sense that they may be bed hopping afterwards.”
Last year the BBC received almost 200 complaints after pro-dancers Johannes Radebe and Graziano Di Prima performed a same sex dance routine to a live performance by Emile Sande. The dance attracted widespread praise from a number of celebrities and dancers who have been pushing the show to introduce a competing same sex couple for years. Graziano shared his pride in the performance, tweeting video of the dance that evening.
REPRESENTATION always matters!🏳️🌈
unforgettable moment,
loved to dance with you @johannesradebe @bbcstrictly pic.twitter.com/RJQnrjhLbl— Graziano Di Prima (@GrazianoDiPrima) November 3, 2019
Inclusivity and representation
The BBC made a statement supporting their decision, saying: “Strictly Come Dancing is an inclusive show and is proud to have been able to facilitate the dance between Johannes and Graziano during the Professionals’ dance. They are dancers first and foremost, and their sex had no bearing on their routine.”
“Although no official complaints have been made about the announced couples as of yet, they will undoubtedly be expected.”
Following Radebe and Prima’s dance, TV Presenter Lorraine Kelly made a statement in response to the 189 complaints, stating that the dance still “made millions and millions of us very very happy.” Although no official complaints have been made about the announced couples as of yet, they will undoubtedly be expected.
Strictly isn’t the first dancing competition to take this step.
Back in 2016, the US edition of the show, Dancing With The Stars, was the first to break down the barrier with a one-off routine choreographed by judge Bruno Tonioli. Contestant Nyle DiMarco and pro Keo Motsepe danced together during an Argentine Tango in a special Team-Up Challenge which saw the final six couples grouped into 3 sets of 4 dancers. The dance was received well, scoring 29 points out of a possible 30.
In 2019, Drag Queen and Celebrity Big Brother winner, Courtney Act, made television history as part of the first same sex pairing to compete on Australia’s Dancing With The Stars. The Drag Race alum performed with their male partner both in and out of Drag. Although Act, who was consistently the highest scoring celebrity of the season, was robbed of their trophy, Denmark has already seen their first pair of same sex winners with Jakob Fauerby and Silas Holst in the same year.
Making history
Even more recently, Ireland’s Dancing With the Stars contestants made history again with a “Switch-Up Week” challenge in February of this year. The celebrities got to choose their own professional partners, resulting in two same sex partner choices; Brian Dowling, a TV presenter, with pro Kai Widdrington, and Lottie Ryan, a radio presenter, with pro Emily Barker. Both dances, again, scored highly and received predominantly positive feedback.
If these past performances are anything to go by, we can anticipate an equally brilliant entry from Strictly’s first official same sex couple.
Amy Murray
Featured Image courtesy of Elijah Ekdahl on Unsplash. Image license found here. No changes were made to this image.
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