Craig Revel Horwood thinks there will be same-sex couples on Strictly Come Dancing next year
The Strictly judge said that it would be up to the BBC to decide, although the corporation say there are no plans to change the current format
The debate over whether same-sex couples will star on Strictly Come Dancing is rumbling on, with judge Craig Revel Horwood saying that he thinks it will "probably happen next year".
It comes as contestant Richard Coles revealed that he had a "discussion" with the BBC about having a male partner before he signed up to the show this year, while comedian Susan Calman said she was "absolutely not disappointed" that she would not be paired with a woman.
Now, Craig has told ITV’s Lorraine that he hopes same-sex couples will feature on the BBC1 Saturday night show in future.
"I think same-sex couples can exist, you only have to decide who’s going to go backwards really, don’t you. That’s the only difference," he told presenter Lorraine Kelly.
On whether he thought that was likely on Strictly, Craig added: "I hope so, I really hope so. In the world of competition there are same-sex couples that do it as well so there is no reason why that can’t happen. It’s just I guess the Beeb have to decide whether they want to do that one year and I think it’ll probably happen next year."
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However, the BBC has released a statement that reads: "Strictly has chosen the traditional format of mixed-sex couples and at the moment we have no plans to introduce same-sex couples in the competition", although a Strictly source added to RadioTimes.com that the idea has not been dismissed or ruled out for the future.
Calman told the BBC over the weekend that she had faced criticism online from people who disagreed with her taking part on the show because it does not have same-sex couples.
Saying that she had been offended by the criticism, Calman added: "No one can say I haven't stood up for my community."
Would you like to see same-sex couples compete on Strictly Come Dancing? Have your say in our poll below:
Strictly Come Dancing returns to BBC1 on Saturday September 23
