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BBC star claims Strictly Come Dancing rejected him because he wanted to dance in a same-sex couple
A gay quizzing star on the BBC has claimed Strictly Come Dancing rejected him because he wanted to dance with a man.
Eggheads’ CJ de Mooi, who claims he was being considered for the show, said he would appear but only if he would dance with a male professional.
Jeremy Vine, the presenter of Eggheads, was chosen as a contestant.
Speaking to the Mirror, he said: ‘I can’t believe they picked Jeremy over me. I’m quite upset. It’s because I wanted to dance in a same-sex couple.
‘Someone at the BBC told me at least for the foreseeable future neither Strictly Come Dancing or the US version Dancing With The Stars will have a same-sex couple on. How disappointing.’
He also claims pro dancer Robin Windsor had been axed because he wanted same-sex pairings. He had told GSN earlier this year that it would be a ‘great thing to happen’.
De Mooi said: ‘Robin was pushing for same-sex couples, suddenly he’s not in it.’
In June, former pro dancer James Jordan said same-sex partnerships on the show would turn it into a ‘joke’.
A BBC spokesperson said they never approached CJ to participate on this year’s series of Strictly Come Dancing, adding that CJ’s agent ‘gave us the opportunity to consider him but there was only one person we ever wanted from Eggheads and that was Jeremy Vine’.
‘Strictly Come Dancing is a family show and we’ve chosen the traditional format of mixed-sex couples,’ they added.
‘At the moment we’ve no plans to introduce same-sex couples.’
Gay comic Julian Clary, who competed on the second series of Strictly Come Dancing, has also called for same-sex couples dancing.
He told Press Association: ‘I think it would be fun, first of all, to watch a same-sex couple dancing.
‘I’m aware that there are difficulties with the lifts and the mechanics of the dancing. But there are gay ballroom dancing clubs around the country, so they’ve found a way to make it work.’
The US or UK have yet to feature a celebrity with a same-sex professional dance partner. Israel’s Dancing With The Stars was the first version of the hit franchise to feature a same-sex partnership, with Austria following in 2011.
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Joe Morgan
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