Daily Mail

Knockout Nicola to ring changes with first Strictly same-sex pairing

- By Eleanor Sharples TV & Radio Reporter

NICOLA Adams joined the Strictly line-up as part of the show’s first same-sex dance couple, declaring: ‘It’s time for change.’

The Olympic gold medalwinni­ng boxer is the sixth celebrity to be officially confirmed for the upcoming series of the BBC1 show.

Miss Adams, 37, who was unveiled on BBC Breakfast yesterday, said: ‘They wanted to know if I wanted to be on the show but I said, “Yeah, I will do it but I want to dance with another female dance partner”.

‘It’s definitely time for change, it’s definitely time to move on and be more diverse and this is a brilliant step in the right direction.’

The BBC follows in the footsteps of ITV, which introduced a male same-sex partnershi­p on Dancing On Ice earlier this year.

Last year, profession­al dancers Johannes Radebe and Graziano di Prima also made history when they performed together in a one-off dance on Strictly.

Miss Adams, who won gold at the London 2012 Olympics and Rio 2016, is dating model Ella Baig, 21, and has been praised as an LGBT role model. The couple appeared on Celebrity Gogglebox this year with their dog.

Comedian Bill Bailey, 55, and reality TV star Jamie Laing, 31, are also rumoured to be joining Strictly, set to be broadcast in October.

 ??  ?? Making history: Nicola Adams with Ella Baig. Below, winning gold in 2012
Making history: Nicola Adams with Ella Baig. Below, winning gold in 2012
 ??  ?? Set to join the line-up: Bill Bailey and Jamie Laing
Set to join the line-up: Bill Bailey and Jamie Laing
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