Olly Alexander says he’d want a male partner on ‘Strictly’
The Years & Years frontman says he'd only hit the dancefloor with another guy.
By Will Stroude
He’s proved he can bust a move in the videos for Years & Years’ latest singles ‘Sanctify’ and ‘If You’re Over Me’, and now Olly Alexander says he’d be up for hitting the Strictly Come Dancing dancefloor – on one condition.
Appearing on Sundsy Brunch over the weekend (August 19) 27-year-old singer admitted he’d be happy to appear on the BBC ballroom dancing competition as long as he was paired with one of the show’s male professionals.
Asked whether he’d take part in the show, which is set to return to screens next month, Olly responded: “Well, why not?”
He added: “I’d want a guy partner. I need a big man to spin me around”.
Sadly for Olly, the BBC have already ruled out same-sex pairings in the show’s latest outing, with a spokesperson confirming there were “no plans” to introduce the change despite mounting pressure to allow contestants to compete with professionals of the same gender – something that’s already been seen on international versions of the show.
One contestant who’s backed the potential change is TV presenter and Attitude coulmnist Dr Ranj Singh, who told the Sunday Mirror that he’d be in favour of dancing with a man on the show.
“I would value a time when same sex couples could dance on shows like Strictly, he said. “It is incredibly important.”
In fact, it seems most of the talent involved with the show would welcome the prospect of a same-sex pairing, with professional dancer Kevin Clifton tweeting last week that he have “no problem” with the change.
Show judge Craig Revel-Horwood has also expressed his support for the move, while former Strictly pro Gleb Savchenko revealed to Attitude earlier this year that he’d relish the chance to dance with a male contestant.
“It would be more exciting for the audience — people would tune in because they wouldn’t know what to expect”, Gleb said.
“In ballroom dancing competitions, there are so many same-sex couples competing. I think it’s fun. A TV show [is more] more than a dancing competition.”
Strictly Come Dancing returns to screens on BBC One next month.