Strictly stars at war as four pro dancers fight to be paired up with male celeb as show’s fifth same sex pairing

STRICTLY Come Dancing's stellar professionals are battling it out to be part of the fifth same-sex pairing in the show's history.

The full Strictly Come Dancing celebrity line-up for 2023 was recently revealed after the professional contingent was confirmed earlier this year.

The big celebrity reveal came shortly ahead of the BBC's announcement of the show's launch date, this being September 23.

With less than a month to go talk has turned to the partnerships - and a slew of male professionals are throwing their hat into the ring for the same-sex coupling.

Boxer Nicola Adams and Katya Jones were the first groundbreaking same-sex pairing on Strictly back in 2020.

Johannes Radebe and John Waite followed a year later.

Karen Hauer and Jayde Adams teamed up, as well as Richie Anderson and Giovanni Pernice for last year's instalment.

Fan favourite Neil Jones has now told he is eager to represent, and said: "My sister used to dance with a girl so that's normal, I've been brought up with that.

"I think it's fantastic and I love to get creative so anything that I've not done before gets me thinking a lot. Bring it on!"

Meanwhile Kai Widdrington added: "I'd be totally up for it. Let's see what happens."

Johannes, who made history in the first all-male Strictly partnership, said: "Listen, I opened that door for people to walk in when I danced with John Waite.

"I'm sitting on the other side and welcoming all of them in."

Latin champion Carlos Gu - who was last year's professional newbie - said ”I would love to.“

Vito Coppola then said: "I'm open to everything. I've watched a lot of same-sex dances from previous Strictly series and I met Layton Williams.

"He's so good and funny - I wouldn't mind dancing with him."

Earlier this month, we reported how many of the Strictly Come Dancing pros are desperate to be paired with either Zara McDermott, 26, or Bobby Brazier, 20.

A source was first to tell us: “Zara and Bobby are absolutely the favourites.

"All the dancers want to be paired with them because they both have serious potential on the dance floor.

“There’s a battle going on between the pros as they all try to convince bosses to get the best pairing.

“They know their airtime is largely dependent on how talented their celebrity pairing is, so everything is to play for at this stage.”

Zara found fame on the ITV2 dating show Love Island but now presents documentaries for BBC Three.

Bobby is the son of the late Big Brother star Jade Goody and has made a name for himself as Freddie Slater on EastEnders.