Strictly Come Dancing contestant Bethany Antonia and her professional partner Nancy Xu have revealed they feared a homophobic backlash after being paired together in a same-sex couple, but were met with overwhelming support instead.
The Game of Thrones actor, who came out as gay in 2024, was paired with Xu ahead of the first live show in a “speed dancing” style segment. They became the third all-female same-sex pairing on Strictly, and the first since Jayde Adams and Karen Hauer in 2022.
Fear of Online Reaction
Following the announcement, Antonia explained that she was afraid of the reaction the pairing might provoke. She told The Standard: “I was really nervous that that Sunday morning I would wake up and it would just be like homophobic comments.”
Xu shared similar concerns, adding: “I didn’t open comments on my phone as I was scared.”
However, both dancers said the response was overwhelmingly positive. “Everyone's been so supportive and so sweet,” the actor explained.
Manifested Partnership
The pair also revealed they had “manifested” being placed in a couple together, after Antonia asked Xu how she would feel about being paired with a woman. “And you were like, ‘I'd love to'. And that was it.”
Antonia was the sixth star to be eliminated from the hit BBC show on Sunday, November 8, after facing off against former Love Island winner Cach Mercer and partner Maddie Ingoldsby.
Emotional Exit
Following her elimination, Antonia said she “had a feeling” she would be going, reflecting on her emotional exit on the spin-off programme Strictly: Lights Up, hosted by Abi Clarke and Tyler West. “I just feel so lucky that that was the one we went out on,” she said. “I had a feeling, it has been a very spiritual day, I had a feeling that today was a change of a chapter.”
Asked if her Strictly experience had lived up to what she wanted from the competition, Antonia said: “Oh it absolutely did. It exceeded my expectations of what it would feel like and the highlight of getting to do it with Nancy. I can't put it into words.”
