TV doctor Ranj Singh will not be allowed to dance with a male partner on the next series of Strictly Coming Dancing, the BBC has said.
Last week, Singh, who is gay, told the Daily Mirror: “I would love to dance with a same-sex partner. I would value a time when same-sex couples could dance on shows like Strictly. It is incredibly important. We are making progress but there is still time to go.”
However, a statement from the BBC has reiterated that there are no plans to introduce same-sex couples and that the stance has not changed since Dr Singh, This Morning‘s resident doctor, was announced as a contestant last week.
A spokesperson for the BBC has said: “Strictly has chosen the longstanding ballroom dancing format of mixed-sex couples and at the moment we have no plans to introduce same-sex couples. We can’t wait to see Dr Singh and the rest of our celebrities on the dancefloor.”
Celebrity contestants on Strictly are paired up with a professional dancer of the opposite sex for the competition series.
Singh is not the first to call on the show to allow the option for same-sex couples, as previous contestant Reverend Richard Coles has said: “We’ve had a discussion about it, actually, and I don’t know. It makes absolutely no sense that anybody resists the idea, in principle. It’s just a question of doing it.”
Judge Craig Revel Horwood has also backed the notion in the past. “I think a same-sex couple can exist. You only have to decide who’s going to go backwards,” he said. “In the world of competitions, there are same-sex couples that do it as well so there is no reason that can’t happen. The Beeb just have to decide if it’s something they want to do.”
"The tango was originally danced between two men anyway. The Argentine Tango between two men is powerful and explosive. And the same can happen between two women."
However, not everyone who has appeared on Strictly is in agreement on the issue, as former contestant Judge Rinder shunned the idea of same-sex couples, stating it would “politicise” the show.
“Would it be a big step forward for the LGBTQI community if there were same-sex couples on Strictly? Do me a favour. Some things ain’t politics and Strictly is one of them,” he said.
Susan Calman also defended her decision to dance with a male professional dancer on the show, after the comedian was criticised on social media for the decision. She said: “I think politically, there’s nothing more powerful than having an openly gay woman on the biggest show on television, whose wife’s on the front row, doing what she wants to do.”
Follow Independent Culture on Facebook for all the latest on Film, TV, Music, and more.
