There was a shock at the end of Sunday's Dancing on Ice when early frontrunners H and Matt were voted off the show.
And Steps star H used his goodbeye speech to give a defiant message to Strictly Come Dancing over featuring same-sex couples. The Welsh singer and pro skater Matt made Dancing on Ice history this series when they became the ITV show's first ever same-sex partnership and, after he lost out in the skate-off to magician Ben Hamlin, H had thinly veiled dig at their BBC rival.
In the video above taken from ITV, H said "Thank you to ITV for championing visibility, acceptance and diversity. And I'd like to say as well...Strictly it's your turn next."
Strictly has still to have a same-sex couple compete in the ballroom, although last year the show did feature a same-sex routine from two of its professional dancers.
H's comment sparked a big reaction online, with one fan tweeting: "Both couples are amazing, and this is such a sad situation, but Ben and Carlotta had more content in their routine. H and Matt made history, and set a precedent that Dancing on Ice and Strictly Come Dancing must always follow" and another reacting "Congratulations to @Ianhwatkins and @TheMattEvers, you left too soon but you were our winners this year. So proud of you H. Much love to you both. oh and we loved the Strictly comment, here here."
However, others felt that his comments were unnecessary, with one viewer posting "Just putting this out there, H: The BBC have announced that Strictly will have same-sex couples this year. The fact that #dancingonice just happens to be on earlier in the year doesn't really mean much."
Echoing those sentiments, another tweeted "Excuse me H don’t go calling strictly out like that!”
