Former BBC professional Kevin Clifton has said it could be time for dancing competition Strictly Come Dancing to welcome its first blind contestant.
As the hit BBC show continues to embrace more inclusivity with its contestants, having a visually impaired dancer would be a “great idea”.
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Kevin, who quit Strictly in 2020 after seven years on the show, also said that having a blind contestant would definitely be possible and if partners “learned to connect” well enough, anyone can dance blindfolded.
(Image: Dave J Hogan/Getty Images for Strictly Ballroom The Musical)
In 2021, deaf contestant Rose Ayling-Ellis won the Glitterball trophy with Giovanni Pernice and last year, Ellie Simmonds, a Paralympic champion swimmer with dwarfism partnered with Nikita Kuzmin and was sixth to leave the series.
In February it was reported that Strictly was planning on casting its first contestant in a wheelchair and bosses think the move will be “absolutely brilliant”.
Speaking to the Daily Star Online ahead of his appearance on BBC’s Who Do You Think You Are, Kevin said: “I think that it would be a great idea to have a blind contestant.
(Image: PA)
“The idea is that in Latin American dancing it’s all about the lead and the follow – so it’s possible.
“The follower’s job is to keep the timing and direction and it’s the leader’s job to change the timing and direction.
“So if you’re good at it and learn to connect with each other then you should be able to dance blindfolded and follow each other’s lead.”
Kevin, who won the show with his now girlfriend Stacey Dooley in 2019, said that a blind contestant had competed in Australian Dancing with the Stars in 2009 and also described how his friend, fellow dancer Jessica Raffa, was able to dance without seeing.
(Image: PA)
The 40-year-old said: “Jessica was blindfolded and passed from partner to partner and it was completely seamless – she didn’t even realise she was dancing with someone else.”
He added: “I think it would be a really interesting idea and I’d love to see it here.”
Kevin is currently on the Strictly Ballroom Tour and admitted he’s “missing Stacey and Minnie”.
(Image: PA)
Stacey, 36, and Kev recently welcomed their first child together, a little girl.
He is also set to feature on an upcoming episode of Who Do You Think You Are, where he discovers that his ancestors are in fact from Canada and he hails from a “long line of skilled and courageous female ancestors who survived – and thrived – against the odds”.
This includes a mysterious woman called Matooski from the First Nations of Canada and a great great grandmother called Emma who spent a year in an orphanage.
Kevin, who hails from Grimsby in Lincolnshire, said he assumed his ancestors were all Northern – or ballroom dancers.
Kevin Clifton’s episode of Who Do You Think You Are? is available to watch on Thursday June 22 at 9 pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
