Gordon Ramsay's daughter, Tilly, and Hollywood actor Greg Wise.
The first live show saw some incredible first dances, with AJ Odudu and Kai Widdrington scoring two 8's and two 9's, topping the leader board with 34 out of 40. There were even some surprises, with BBC Breakfast presenter Dan Walker scoring 24 points when even the judges had expected him to flop.
Confirmed by make the most of Strictly Come Dancing, what a majestic expansion of the style, much love for leaning into it." John took to his Instagram Stories to tell fans just how appreciative he was of all the , as well as how proud he was of dancing partner Johannes for being "unapologetically himself" and choreographing such a strong and inspiring dance.
After the success of the first female same-sex partnership, Nicola Adams and Katya Jones, this year producers introduced the male pairing, with LGBTQ+ viewers stating just how important this representation is for them. John stated that he wanted to use his dancing partnership to help other queer viewers so that they don't grow up with shame like he did when exploring his sexuality. He even stated that he hoped that this would be the start of change within the competition, with even two straight men being paired up in the future on Strictly Come Dancing.
Strictly Come Dancing featuring same-sex couples have been a long time coming, especially considering how the show is incredibly flamboyant and camp in nature. The format of Strictly Come Dancing has changed very little since its creation in 2004, and the show has been very tentative to change, with previous contestant Dr. Ranj Singh's request for a male partner denied. Also, there's no rule within competitive ballroom against same-sex couples competing. So why has it taken this long? Maybe the BBC didn't want to receive complaints. Representation is important, and John and Johannes' pairing is hopefully the start of a gender-blind competition.
Sources: Digital Spy, @thisaeshaw/Twitter