Strictly Come Dancing fans hit out over pairings and moan 'such as a shame'

Strictly Come Dancing has finally made its long-awaited comeback to the BBC and revealed which celebrity contestant have been paired with which professional dancer.

The premiere also saw the return of Amy Dowden, following her two-year hiatus for cancer treatment.

As well as celebrating the show’s 20th anniversary, this year’s show will also mark Aljaz Skorjanec’s comeback after his 2022 exit.

After the pairing was finally confirmed, viewers noticed a major difference from the 2023 series and complained on social media.

Unlike last year, there are no same-sex couples even though Layton Williams and Nikita Kuzmin had a successful run and came in second place.

Taking to X, @Daniel_Bevis complained: “Shame they've gone all the way back to the Status Quo with no Same Sex coupling this year.”

@MissLSW echoed: “Can't say I'm that excited, no same-sex pairings and less women. Meh.”

A third viewer @Jusssssstin added: “Such a shame no same sex couples this year. Representation is so important.”

As @josephfelldown speculated: “I don't believe they've deliberately chose to have no same-sex couples this year. Someone definitely dropped out.”

According to a source via the MailOnline, the decision to feature no same-sex couples was made in August, as producers reportedly wanted to return to its “traditional roots” after the string of high-profile scandals.

One insider said that while the broadcaster wants to be seen as “inclusive and progressive” executives are aware that “not everyone is going to like” same-sex pairings.

In 2019, professionals Johannes Radebe and Graziano di Prima made history when they became the first same-sex couple to dance together on the show.

However, the one-off performance attracted 189 complaints, but executives said the gender of contestants should have “no bearing” on their dancing.