Many fans were disappointed when this year’s series of Strictly Come Dancing failed once again to give the public the much-demanded same-sex partnership they’ve been asking for. However, there’s good news as it has been revealed that the next series of Dancing On Ice will see professional Matt Evers partnered with Steps singer Ian ‘H’ Watkins.
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Ian – better-known as H - reportedly asked producers if he could be put with a male partner – and the ‘fully-supportive’ Dancing On Ice bosses were totally in favour of the idea. One TV source revealed: ‘It’s a huge moment in TV history. A lot of viewers will be watching and the hope is it might set a trend.’
Last year, the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing featured a one-off dance by the show’s professionals in which they performed in same-sex pairings but the show is yet to feature a celebrity/professional same-sex couple, although a source has told the Daily Mail that producers are ‘open to it’.
The Strictly source said in a statement: ‘Strictly Come Dancing is an inclusive show and we are proud to have featured same sex dancing amongst the professional dancers in group numbers in previous series. We are completely open to the prospect of including same sex pairings between our celebrities and professional dancers in the future, should the opportunity arise.'
However, actions surely speak louder than words – and BBC producers may well come to regret letting ITV pip them to the post by allowing a same-sex dancing couple for the first time. In any case, we can’t wait to see what H and Matt – who have already been pictured in training! - can do together on the ice come January!