The show featured its first same-sex couple in 2020, when Nicola Adams was partnered with Katya Jones.<\/p>\n
Since then, the show has featured a number of same-sex pairings, including last year\u2019s runners-up Layton Williams and Nikita Kuzmin<\/a>.<\/p>\n Speaking with this week\u2019s issue of Radio Times magazine<\/strong>, Revel Horwood said of the change to allow same-sex couples: \u201cI think we did it one year too late. I wish we\u2019d been braver sooner, but we\u2019re there now.<\/p>\n \u201cViewers are more open-minded than we give them credit for. Some people will kick up a stink initially, then suddenly they\u2019re fine with it and that\u2019s how we change the world \u2013 from the persecution of gay men to two men dancing on national television.\u201d<\/p>\n \u200cMeanwhile, Charlotte Moore, chief content officer of the BBC, added: \u201cWe were very clear that Strictly was about the ballroom dancing world, which we were trying to hold true to, but I think there was a moment where we thought, \u2018Why would we not do this?\u2019 It made total sense and has become the norm.<\/p>\n Read more:<\/b><\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think there was resistance so much as, \u2018When\u2019s the right timing?\u2019 Our audience is very sophisticated and savvy. They get to know the contestants, they learn with them, they become inspired by them.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s how we break through those boundaries of any kind of bias anyone has. It\u2019s about educating and informing, but never in a heavy way. I always say that when Strictly\u2019s on, everything is good in the world.\u201d<\/p> Horwood is the only member of the show\u2019s judging panel to have sat on it since the show\u2019s first season.<\/p>\n His fellow judge Anton Du Beke has also been with the show since season 1, but was a professional dancer rather than a judge up until the show\u2019s 19th season in 2021.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the only other member of the on-screen presenting team to have been with the series since the start is Tess Daly, who previously hosted with Bruce Forsyth, and now does so with Claudia Winkleman.<\/p>\n Strictly Come Dancing returns in 2024.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Looking for something to watch? Check out more of our <\/strong>Entertainment<\/strong><\/a> coverage or visit our\u00a0<\/strong>TV Guide<\/strong><\/a> and <\/strong>Streaming Guide<\/strong><\/a> to find out what\u2019s on.\u00a0<\/strong>For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to <\/strong>The Radio Times Podcast<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n “Viewers are more open-minded than we give them credit for.” <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":50925,"template":"","categories":[1,5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/05\/strictlys-craig-revel-horwood-feels-show-was-too-late-with-same-sex-couples-scaled.jpg",2560,1707,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/05\/strictlys-craig-revel-horwood-feels-show-was-too-late-with-same-sex-couples-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/05\/strictlys-craig-revel-horwood-feels-show-was-too-late-with-same-sex-couples-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/05\/strictlys-craig-revel-horwood-feels-show-was-too-late-with-same-sex-couples-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/05\/strictlys-craig-revel-horwood-feels-show-was-too-late-with-same-sex-couples-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/05\/strictlys-craig-revel-horwood-feels-show-was-too-late-with-same-sex-couples-1536x1024.jpg",1536,1024,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/05\/strictlys-craig-revel-horwood-feels-show-was-too-late-with-same-sex-couples-2048x1366.jpg",2048,1366,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"\"Viewers are more open-minded than we give them credit for.\"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/50924"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Layton](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/12\/Layton-and-Nikita-week-11-a85df12.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"Layton-and-Nikita-week-11\\"\/")
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