Bruno Tonioli, 64, has shared his thoughts about the potential inclusion of same-sex partnerships on Strictly Come Dancing. The BBC dance competition’s judge issued a warning to producers to make sure the change wouldn’t be taking place on the show just to “get headlines”.
Bruno’s comments come after Dancing on Ice debuted their first same-sex couple in Steps singer Ian ‘H’ Watkins and professional skater Matt Evers this year.
The Italian dance expert told The Sun: “We would have to be very careful because we wouldn’t want to do it just to get headlines.
“It has to be the right person and couple for it to work.”
In spite of his reservations about same-sex pairings becoming a publicity stunt, Bruno insisted it “is possible”.
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The Strictly favourite added: “The search needs to start and it’s something that is possible.
“But it shouldn’t be headline chasing.”
Strictly featured a same-sex dance between the professionals during last year’s series, which saw Graziano Di Prima and Johannes Radebe performing together while pop star Emeli Sande sang.
Around 10.5 million people tuned in for the episode but a handful of people logged complaints with the BBC, amounting to around 300 in December, according to The Metro.
Graziano spoke out about the reaction to the routine in February’s issue of Attitude Magazine.
He said: “We weren’t worried about it. OK, there were 200 complaints, but there were millions of people writing to us, sending us videos saying thank you and celebrating our friendship.
“And for [Johannes], as a gay man, it means the world… There were thousands and thousands of people saying: ‘Thank you guys for doing that, it means the world’.”
Graziano continued: “Why should I care about 200 people? Are you kidding me?
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“Those 200 people, you will see that in the future they will change their minds. It is such a silly thing because dancing is for everyone.”
In response to the complaints, the BBC said in November: “Strictly Come Dancing is an inclusive show and is proud to have been able to facilitate the dance between Johannes and Graziano during the professionals’ dance.
“They are dancers first and foremost, and their sex had no bearing on their routine.”
Elsewhere, Bruno, who has been a panelist on Strictly since the show began in 2004, has shared details about his move away from the programme after showing off his singing talents.
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The veteran judge recently revealed he has had discussions with record bosses about an album.
Spilling all to The Mirror, he said: “I have spoken with a few people. We are discussing it.
“And I don’t want to do an album that’s all covers. I want to do some new material.
“I have an idea of the sound we’re going to go for – I want to bring back anthemic disco songs.”
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