Will Young will not be strutting his stuff with a male dance partner on the new series of ‘Strictly Come Dancing’, it has been confirmed.
The singer, who came out as gay in 2002, was the second celeb officially announced to be taking to the ‘Strictly’ dancefloor later this year.
But the BBC confirmed the 37-year-old would be paired with a female dancer during his time in the competition, as the debate about whether same-sex couples should feature on the show continues.
In a statement, a BBC spokesperson said: “The show has chosen the traditional Latin and Ballroom format of mixed-sex couples.”
‘Strictly’ judge Craig Revel Horwood had previously said same-sex pairings were “on the cards”.
He told OK! magazine last year: “A same sex couple on Strictly – that is on the cards.
“It will either be this year, or next year, but most certainly it will happen.”
Craig added: “There are competitions throughout the world that have same sex couples – you just have to decide who goes backwards darling.”
One of the show’s former professional dancers previously revealed he had spoken to Beeb bosses about the possibility of introducing same-sex dancers.
Robin Windsor suggested that an all-male or all-female couple could compete on a one-off special in an effort to “test the waters”.
“I spoke to producers about having a same-sex couple competing,” Robin told the Daily Star.
“I’m not sure if the British public are ready for it on the main show, but I think it would be a good idea to do it on a Children In Need special or the Christmas show.
“It would be a good way to test the waters. Then, if the public love it, why not go all out and do it for a full series? I’m up for anything.”
But James Jordan, another of the show’s former professional dancers, disagreed, saying the show would “lose so many viewers” if same-sex couples were introduced.
“I have nothing against same-sex couples, if they want to go and do their own competitions,” James said. “But ballroom and Latin dancing is about a man dancing with a woman – that’s fact”.
Despite never having a same-sex couple on the show, ‘Strictly has previously featured two men dancing together for a one-off routine when professionals Robin Windsor and Aljaž Skorjanec took to the floor together in 2014.