Strictly’s Anton du Beke claims same sex pairings ‘don’t mean anything’ to BBC pro dancers – and points finger at producers

STRICTLY'S Anton du Beke has claimed same sex pairings ‘don’t mean anything’ to BBC pro dancers – and points the finger at producers for why it hasn't happened yet.

Questions about when the BBC One dancing show will introduce its first same sex pairing have been swirling for a few years now.

And with ITV show Dancing on Ice welcoming its first same sex couple – Ian 'H' Watkins and Matt Evers – in the 2020 series, the question of when Strictly will follow suit has come up again.

Tackling it at the finalists press conference ahead of tonight's grand final, Anton – who has reached the final with Emma Barton – said the pro dancers wouldn't be fazed by the prospect of dancing with someone of the same sex.

The 53-year-old explained: "It’s not for us to decide, that’s up to the producers.

"To us as professionals it doesn’t mean anything, it’s not a thing to us. This is a thing for you.

"This is not a thing for us as we just dance, that’s really it.

"I’ve danced with fellas a lot, so for me it’s not even a thing. I know Oti and Amy feel exactly the same way, we just dance.

"It’s essentially how you choreograph it really, so we are just going to choreograph numbers, if we dance with a fella, we dance with a fella, if we dance with a dame, we dance with a dame.

His comments come a few weeks after Ofcom received almost 200 complaints from viewers after pro dancers Graziano Di Prima and Johannes Radebe performed together on one of the results shows.

While the majority of viewers went wild for their routine during Emili Sande's performance on November 3, a small minority felt the need to complain.

But praising the same-sex routine, one fan wrote: "Johannes dancing with Graziano is beautiful and more more more same sex partnerships please."

Another said that the landmark moment had moved them to tears.

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