Aoibhin Garrihy & Vitali Kozmin appearing on Dancing With The Stars Ireland | Photo: YouTube/RTE
Two judges from Dancing With The Stars Ireland have given their support to same-sex couples competing on the show.
Judges Brian Redmond and Loraine Barry said that Irish viewers were ready for same-sex pairings on RTE’s hit dance show.
‘We’ve proved as a nation over the past five years how far we’ve come and how progressive we are,’ Redmond said.
‘I think it would be interesting to see how the professional dancers would get it to work,’ the Irish Sun reported.
Earlier this month, drag artist and Ireland’s Got Talent finalist Paul Ryder revealed his desire to perform on the show.
‘I’ll do whatever it takes to get that place and dance with my male partner,’ Ryder said.
Do you hear that @DWTSIRL 🙋🏼♀️ I’m coming for the floor! Wether I’m a l star or not! ⭐️ @ShinawilTV @SoniaHarrisPR https://t.co/BhxTvQwYz8
— Paul Ryder (@RuPaulRyder) August 10, 2018
Growing number of voices
In recent months there have been increasing calls for more inclusivity on popular TV dance shows.
Dr. Ranj Singh, who’ll be appearing on this year’s Stictly Come Dancing, said he’d ‘love’ to dance with a same-sex partner on the show.
‘I would value a time when same-sex couples could dance on shows like Strictly. It is incredibly important,’ Singh told The Mirror.
Last year’s contestant John Peacock added his voice as well. The double Paralympic champion told the Press Association, ‘I would be more than happy for it. I think it’s something that would be really cool to see.’
Last week, pro-dancer Kevin Clifton gave his support – when asked on Twitter if he’d be open to ‘dancing with a guy’ Clifton replied that he’d ‘have no problem with it’.
Strictly judge Craig Revel Horwood and contestant from 15th series Rev. Richard Coles have also supported same-sex dance couples competeing on the show.
Despite the increasingly loud calls for inclusivity, neither the BBC nor RTE currently have place to include same-sex dance partners in their repspective shows.
