“It was about women being as strong as the men are”
BY YASMIN VINCE, IMAGE BY BBC
Jayde Adams has explained why she wanted to dance with a woman when she appeared on the reality competition show Strictly Come Dancing.
Adams, a comedian who was part of the 2022 line up, was partnered with Karen Hauer. On an episode of Jack Guinness’ podcast Queerphoria, she said: “The reason I chose to dance with Karen was not because I’m queer.”
She elaborated that her weight was a larger factor. Though the queer representation element was important, she had not experienced homophobic abuse, while her experience of fatphobia was “intense”. As such, she had seen other fat women dance and did not want to be in the similarly uncomfortable positions when it came to lifts.
The comedian, who got to week five, also spoke about how her body type affected her decision. “I’m like a 5ft 11, nearly 6ft woman. I’m also very fat and none of them were going to lift me.”
To highlight how uncomfortable her experience on the show could have been, Adams pointed to a previous Strictly contestant: “I didn’t want to go down like Ann Widdecombe. I didn’t want to be dragged across the floor.”
“It was about women being as strong as the men are and that, for me, was so important to put across,” explained Adams. She added that she was “really proud” that she made the same sex partnership “not about who I’m shagging” but about how strong a woman could be on national television and body confidence.
Strictly, which started again on 21 September, does not feature a same-sex pairing this year. As celebrities have previously requested a partner of the same-sex, as Adams did, it may be that none of the booked celebs did so this year. However, the loss has come as a disappointment to many viewers.
Back in 2022, Adams and her partner, Karen Hauer, were the cover stars of DIVA’s November issue, where the comedian discussed the show and more.
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