Teen drama makes history with tender same-sex dance routine that ends with groundbreaking kiss
Cleo (L) andJude (R) share a tender kiss on The Next Step and no, you’re crying right now, OK? (Twitter)
CBBC show The Next Step made history Wednesday (July 22) by featuring its first-ever gay kiss.
The Next Step tells the stories of a competitive dancing troupe. Shot in a mockumentary style, the show has been airing on the CBBC, the children’s television brand owned by the BBC, for seven years without any real queer romance (a gay male couple were once introduced, but their physical interactions didn’t go past a pat on the back).
That changed on Wednesday (July 22), when teenage fans cooped up at home watched two female stars share a romantic kiss for the first time.
In the episode “Room Service“, Cleo (Dani Verayo), devastated that her friend Summer (Sage Linder) has left the troupe, finds support from fellow dancer Jude (Molly Sanders).
She helps Cleo talk through her fears that the group won’t make it to nationals after all, before the pair deliver a stunning dance routine to the tune of “Brave” by Sahne Harte – their bodies doing more to communicate their feelings for one another than words ever could.
In a moment no doubt eagerly welcomed by young, queer Britons – the two share a tender kiss.
“Cleo and I are opposites in a lot of ways. Which is why we balance each other,” Jude reflects in the episode.
“I soften her edges, and she’s helped me to dream bigger. Cleo means the world to me.
“When I dance with Cleo, I forget about everything. It’s just her. We’re dancing together and all I see is her.”
Cleo then adds: “When I dance with Jude, I feel safe and free all at the same time. When we dance together, it’s like magic.”
The Next Step‘s historic same-sex kiss thrills fans.
As a result of how aggressively adorable the whole scene was, countless The Next Step fans jumped to Twitter to somehow compress their feelings into 240 characters or less.
CBBC JUST DID THAT! THE NEXT STEP, A KIDS SHOW, JUST DID THAT! pic.twitter.com/FFjnOJ9l3r— j (@cleojudes) July 22, 2020
When kids shoes have representation like this it honestly makes me so happy because I know there are kids out there who will feel less alone than I did 😭💖 thank you @cbbc @thenextstep https://t.co/Htwwj2IU1P— Abi (she/her) (@AbigailDSouza6) July 23, 2020
https://twitter.com/nflyhyub/status/1286627043233406976
We are very proud to be viewers of this beautiful series, finally The Next Step did it too! Love is with all its colors, we love TNS and we love #Clude 🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈@thenextstep @cbbc pic.twitter.com/cDWjbbSUK8
— The Next Step LATAM 🇦🇷 (@thenextsteplat) July 24, 2020
