Last year, Strictly Come Dancing broke new ground as two male professionals danced together to Emili Sandé’s Shine. These three minutes of LGBTQ+ representation were immediately countered by 189 official complaints that it was “offensive to show two men dancing together”.
Twitter was alight with those who cried sacrilege against the tradition of men and women dancing together. Dancing on Ice stirred similar controversy earlier this year when it was announced that pop star Ian Watkins was to be paired with professional Matt Evers for his stint on the show.
Broadcast regulator Ofcom received 16 complaints after their first performance – based, again, on the violation of tradition.It is against this background that today the BBC announced.