Fans have criticised the BBC after editing out a trans ally slogan on Strictly Come Dancing star Bethany Antonia's T-shirt. During Saturday's show, the training montage for Bethany and her partner Nancy Xu's American Smooth showed the House of the Dragon actress wearing a white T-shirt with the phrase 'protect the dolls' written across the front.
The T-shirt, also worn by Hollywood star Pedro Pascal to the Thunderbolts* premiere in April last year, was designed by London-based designer Conner Ives for his Autumn/Winter 2025 collection, with profits donated to charity Trans Lifeline. 'Dolls' is an affectionate term for trans women within the LGBTQ+ community, with the message seen as one of solidarity in the face of anti-trans policies.
Footage edited and blurred
At the start of the rehearsal footage, Bethany's T-shirt, worn with green tracksuit bottoms, could be seen with text. However, when she later danced and showed the front of her top to the camera, there was nothing there. Evidence suggested text had been edited out and a blurred box placed over her chest in the episode, which can also be seen in the version uploaded on BBC iPlayer.
The Super TV account on X spotted that the original footage had been shared on Strictly's Instagram account, before being quietly removed and replaced with the edited version. 'Bethany wore a T-shirt that said 'Protect the Dolls' during #Strictly rehearsals,' the account's post read, with a grab of Bethany practising a spin and showing the T-shirt's print before it was edited. 'After posting a video, the BBC quietly replaced it with a new one that doesn't show her from the front. During the show, they actually blurred out the T-shirt completely. Absolutely despicable.'
BBC response and fan reaction
A BBC spokesperson told Metro: 'As is standard practise on any entertainment show on the BBC and in line with our editorial guidelines, appropriate steps are taken to reduce the inclusion of any overt branding or slogans that may be present, regardless of the wording or statement in question.'
In the Instagram comment section, Milly Rowland wrote: 'Great to see Bethany's support for the trans community, very sad that a supportive t-shirt was seemingly censored by the BBC.' Several other users posted 'protect the dolls' in the comments in protest. On X, River accused the BBC of 'genuine oppressive propaganda', while Siobhan added: 'Deeply disappointed. But unfortunately not surprised.' Bree Ryan also pointed to the recent cancellation of Drag Race UK, alleging the broadcaster was wiping LGBTQ+ elements from the network.
Bethany, 28, recently spoke about the importance of representation after being placed in an all-female partnership with Nancy, and after seeing previous ones on the show had helped her feel more comfortable being out to people in her life. 'It was so important to me to make sure that if I did it, I got to do it with a woman,' she told the BBC. 'When I watched Nicola and Katya do it for the first time and be the first same-sex pairing, I wasn't out to everyone in my life. Watching them do the show… made it so much easier for me to have that conversation with people in my life.'
Olympic boxer Nicola Adams and dancer Katya Jones were the first all-female partnership on Strictly in 2020, while there have also been same-sex partnerships between Bake Off star John Whaite and Johannes Radebe, Nikita Kuzmin and West End star Layton Williams, and former pro Giovanni Pernice with BBC TV and radio presenter Richie Anderson. Comedian Jayde Adams and ex-pro Karen Hauer previously danced together in honour of Jayde's late sister, with whom she had performed in competitive disco dancing when they were younger. Metro contacted reps for Bethany Antonia for comment.
