Ian H Watkins passes the baton to Strictly Come Dancing after shocking Dancing on Ice elimination
Steps singer Ian H Watkins with Dancing on Ice skater Matt Evers. (ITV)
Steps singer Ian H Watkins has hit out at Strictly Come Dancing for refusing to feature a same-sex pairing after he was eliminated from Dancing on Ice last night.
Watkins made history as one half of Dancing on Ice‘s first same-sex pairing this season, but his journey came to an end last night when the judges decided to send him home.
He slammed Strictly after he was eliminated when he found himself in the bottom two with magician Ben Hanlin.
Watkins thanked Dancing on Ice for having him on the show, and added: “Strictly, it’s your turn now.”
LGBT+ fans were overjoyed by Ian H Watkins same-sex pairing on Dancing on Ice.
Fans were overjoyed in January when Watkins and Matt Evers debuted as Dancing on Ice‘s first ever same-sex couple pairing.
Sadly, their first same-sex dance garnered 16 complaints, with Watkins saying they were like a “dagger to the heart”.
He said: “The reaction was incredible – a lot of the comments were overwhelmingly supportive, but when people call you hideous names and say things like ‘it’s not natural’ or ‘you’re a faggot’, all of those awful names, for me, they’re a dagger in my heart.”
“Strictly, it’s your turn now.”
Watkins, who has twin sons with his partner Craig Ryder, continued: “I think the world has progressed and changed so much, but those kinds of people still exist and will come into contact with my children.
“And those bigots will breed more bigots and we’re bigger and better than that now, as a society. It’s changed so much, but there’s still a small minority that breeds negativity and it’s hideous.”
Strictly Come Dancing has never had a same-sex pairing in the competition.
Strictly Come Dancing has repeatedly come under fire for its refusal to have a same-sex dance pairing on the hit BBC show.
In the series’ last outing, professional dancers Graziano Di Prima and Johannes Radebe made history when they performed the show’s first ever same-sex male dance routine.
The powerful moment was widely praised by LGBT+ people – however, Strictly has repeatedly refused to feature a same-sex pairing in the actual competition.
