Dancing On Ice have beaten rivals Strictly Come Dancing revealing that one of this year’s contestants, Ian ‘H’ Watkins from Steps will be partnered with Dancing On Ice regular Matt Evers.
Ian pitched the idea to producers of the show once he had been cast.
A source told Digital Spy: “After conversations with the Dancing On Ice production team, H enquired as to the possibility of being paired with a male professional skater.
“Dancing On Ice were fully supportive of a same-sex partnership and as such this year H will be paired with Matt Evers.”
Last year, professional Matt Evers previously said that he would be interested in being part of the show’s first-ever same-sex pair.
He was famously matched with Gemma Collins last year.
A spokesperson for the ITV show addressed the talk of a same-sex pairing by saying: “We won’t be commenting on speculation around the Dancing On Ice pairings until closer to the new series in 2020.”
The new cast is currently in training for the first episode. Ian posted a video showing him training with Coach Tracey Keeble.
Earlier this year, the sheer thought of a same-sex couple on Strictly Come Dancing sent British media into a spin.
DUP MLA Jim Wells was called a “bigoted old dinosaur” by Piers Morgan for saying he wouldn’t tune in to Strictly for fear of seeing a same-sex dance routine.
“The show is wonderful family viewing and [the decision to allow same-sex couples] will change that considerably. You’ve had a busy week, you sit down with the family, and you watch pure entertainment,” the Northern Irish politician said.
Ex-head judge Len Goodman has said that he doesn’t support same-sex dancers competing on Strictly because he’s an “old traditionalist”.
Asked if he had sympathy for the people who may not want to watch the same-sex dancers on the show, he said: “Yes, because I’m one of those older people myself.”
In 2018, the Strictly pro-dancers performed a same-sex dance routine. It was a powerful and seductive take on the Imagine Dragon’s song ‘Believer’. The intense choreography and passionate connections between the couples proved the fresh combos were just as successful as previously mixed numbers.
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