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Kevin Clifton accuses Strictly Come Dancing viewers of bias against female celebrities with dance training

Kevin defended Maisie over the dance training remarks she received (Picture: Guy Levy/BBC/PA Wire)

Kevin Clifton has pointed out the double standards of some Strictly Come Dancing viewers, explaining that when a female celebrity has previous dance training, fans ‘don’t like it’.

The 2021 series of Strictly is set to be a spectacular event, with stars including McFly musician Tom Fletcher, Loose Women star Judi Love and Olympic gold medal winner Adam Peaty cast in the line-up.

During a recent episode of his podcast, former Strictly dancer Kevin was joined by his sister, fellow ex-Strictly pro Joanne Clifton, to discuss the upcoming stars of the show.

Joanne pointed out that Tom, who was the first celebrity to be unveiled, attended the Sylvia Young Theatre School when he was younger, adding that she doesn’t think this would give him a ‘massive advantage’ because the school is for ‘when you’re a kid’.

Kevin, who quit Strictly in 2020, replied: ‘I feel like the general audience of Strictly Come Dancing don’t mind it so much if a male celebrity has a bit of training. They don’t like it when a female celebrity has training. That’s my experience of it.’

The dancer explained how this topic of conversation came up during the 2020 series, when EastEnders star Maisie Smith took part in the competition.

Tom Fletcher is getting ready to show off his best dancing moves (Picture: BBC/PA)

Maisie, who was a runner-up with her partner Gorka Márquez, told This Morning last year that while she had ‘dancing experience’, having ‘done a bit of hip-hop and street dance throughout my time’, she had ‘no technical ability at all’.

Kevin compared the fan reactions to Maisie to the way the audience responded to actor Danny Mac, who also had previous dance training.

‘We talked about this a lot last year, when Maisie was on the show and people were having a go, but people loved, say, Danny Mac, who had training, and rightly so, he was amazing,’ he said.

‘I’m not saying that’s right or wrong. I love Danny Mac, I think he’s mad talented and he’s a nice guy and I thought he was brilliant on Strictly. But like, see how the reaction is different when a guy has training to when a girl has training. Whether he’s trained or not, I don’t think it’ll make too much difference for him.

Joanne referenced the fact that Tom starred as Oliver! on the West End when he was 10 years old, as she and Kevin discussed the prospect of him recreating the role for Musicals Week.

More: Strictly Come Dancing

Rehearsals for the professional group routine for Strictly are already underway, with the dancers posing in a series of sultry photos.

Several of the celebrity contestants have been sharing behind-the-scenes sneak peeks of the show, including swimmer Adam as he donned a dashing sparkly dress.

Strictly Come Dancing returns to BBC One later this year.

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