Kai Widdrington makes first public outing with BBC Strictly drag queen partner amid backlash to pairing
Kai Widdrington was all smiles as he stepped out arm-in-arm with his new dance partner for the upcoming BBC Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special.
While he’d been benched for the flagship 2024 series, Widdrington will soon be back in the ballroom alongside drag performer Tayce.
Tayce shot to fame as a finalist on RuPaul’s Drag Race UK season two and has worked as a model and presenter for the likes of Sky, MTV and BBC Radio 1.
The performer was unveiled as the second star taking part in the Christmas special on It Takes Two last week, with Widdrington making his feelings clear on the pairing on social media soon after.
Now, the pair have taken time out of their rehearsal schedule to attend the premiere of the Ariana Grande flick Wicked at London’s Leicester Square.
Widdrington looked dapper in a velvet dinner jacket while Tayce put on a very leggy display in a skimpy corset dress, in keeping with the event’s green and pink theme.
As the Strictly pro shot a smile to the cameras, Tayce remained stoic and stared straight-faced at photographers.
Fans will have to wait until Christmas Day to see how the duo perform in the ballroom, but in the meantime, some fans have been sharing their grievances with the appointment of a drag performer in the long-running dance competition.
While Tayce was overjoyed to be joining the show as the show’s first-ever drag contestant during their It Takes Two appearance, the appointment hasn’t been met with a unanimous warm reception by the fandom.
In response to the announcement from the BBC Press Office’s X account, some fans criticised the news due to Tayce’s celebrity status.
“Barrel scraping for ‘celebrities’ again,” one fan typed while a second weighed in: “Never heard of them.”
Elsewhere, others criticised the inclusion of a drag artist on a family show, with a third critic hitting out: “Oh please, please BBC, stop putting Drag everywhere. These people are mocking us (women)… Drag says that women are clowns.”
And other criticism lodged towards Tayce came in response to their conduct when they were unveiled as a contestant on It Takes Two, with one viewer slamming on the social media platform: “Are all drag queens loud, annoying and insufferable?! #strictly #ittakestwo.”
However, there has been plenty of support for Tayce’s inclusion in the Christmas special cast, with one supporter arguing: “This is amazing.
“It’s about time we have drag queen on the show but what is not OK is the hate this hate needs to stop I’m super excited for Christmas special of the show I love it.”
Another Strictly fan similarly hit back at naysayers: “People in the comments complaining a drag queen is on a family show, yet I bet they happily take their kids to a pantomime at Christmas!” (sic)
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During the episode of It Takes Two, the confident performer told East they’d be bringing “electric”, “drama”, “passion”, “fashion” and “je ne sais quoi” to the dancefloor.
Tayce also said of Widdrington: “I love him. We had an amazing day the other day rehearsing, day one, and I’ve got honestly most of the routine down already, so buckle up princess, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.”
The RuPaul’s Drag Race star then revealed they’d been given the Kylie Minogue track A Hundred Degrees to perform to on Christmas Day.
Continuing the sassy display, Tayce added: “I can’t wait for Kai to spin me around like the light, little, gorgeous model that I am but honestly, it’s in the name of the song, A Hundred Degrees and I’m gonna turn up the heat, so let’s go!”
