Nicola Adams will make ‘Strictly’ history as part of first same-sex dance couple
The bisexual former Olympic boxer has revealed she asked to be paired with a female partner.
By Will Stroude
Nicola Adams will make Strictly Come Dancing history as part of the show’s first ever same-sex dance couple.
Former Olympic boxer Adams, who won gold at both the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Games, is set to take part in the 18th series of the ballroom dance competition, which kicks off later this year.
Appearing on BBC Breakfast, Adams revealed she asked producers for a female partner while signing up for the show.
Swapping Olympic gold for Saturday night glitter. Boxer Nicola Adams OBE is stepping into the #Strictly ring! 🥇
👉 https://t.co/cYNbp8FkrM @nicolaadamsobe pic.twitter.com/4BsosK7mzk
— BBC Strictly ✨ (@bbcstrictly) September 2, 2020
“I asked the show about it. They wanted to know if I wanted to be on the show and I said, ‘Yeah, I’ll do it, but I want to dance with another female dance partner’,” Adams said.
The bisexual athlete continued: “It will be nice for the LGBT community to be able to see there are same-sex couples on the show as well.”
“It’s definitely time to move on and be more diverse”
Boxer Nicola Adams reveals to #BBCBreakfast she asked #Strictly if she could have a same-sex dance partner.
⁰https://t.co/KOGRJ2JKCc pic.twitter.com/3RkJn312jg— BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) September 2, 2020
Adams will be the first celebrity contestant to be paired with a professional dancer of the same sex in Strictly’s 16-year history.
Last year, male professional dancers Graziano Di Prima and Johannes Radebe performed a routine together which was widely praised by viewers but also sparked more than 200 complaints to Ofcom.
“I think it’s really important,” Adams said of her pairing with an as-yet unknown female professional. “It’s definitely time for change.
“It’s definitely time to move on and be more diverse, and this is a brilliant step in the right direction.”