Peter Andre has slammed those who have criticised Strictly Come Dancing for being “too woke” and said “they’re overdoing it”.
The BBC One dancing show recently came under fire for its same sex partnerships and the diversity of the contestants.
Radio 2 presenter Richie Anderson is partnered with Giovanni Pernice, while comedian Jayde Adams is in a pairing with Karen Hauer.
One viewer wrote on Twitter: “#Strictly gone woke…too woke shakes head!”
Another added: “Strictly come dancing used to be a good family show to watch. It’s been ruined by excessive diversity. Too woke for us, we no longer watch it.”
Hitting back at the criticism, Pete, who took part in the show in 2015 with Janette Manrara, wrote in his exclusive column: “I’ve been loving Strictly so far and I think Will Mellor is brilliant. He’s been so impressive.
“People have criticised the show for being “too woke”, but I think the same-sex partnerships are great and should have always been there.
The 49 year old, who finished in sixth place continued: “It’s about dance as an art form and it shouldn’t matter who’s dancing with who. I don’t know why it makes some people so annoyed.
“The anti-woke brigade are overdoing it now and they are very quickly becoming the minority.”
Last year’s runner-up, chef and baker John Whaite, also hit back at claims the programme has become a “woke box-ticking exercise” and compared his partnership with South African dancer Johannes Radebe to Richie and Giovanni’s.
It was suggested that his and Johannes’ partnership felt “natural”, while Giovanni and Richie’s pairing is a “mis-match”.
Steph’s Packed Lunch presenter John, 33, said: “'Please don't use my partnership with Johannes as a way to undermine or erode the beauty of Richie and Giovanni's partnership.'
He also shared his thoughts on the comments comparing Paralypmic simmer Ellie Simmonds to last year’s winner Rose Ayling-Ellis.
“In using the comparisons between Rose and Ellie, I'm picking up that if a disability isn't visible then it's digestible, but as soon as it becomes visible, it's difficult to watch.
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“If you think the BBC showing this broad range of diversity and representation, if you think that's undigestible to watch or woke, may I suggest that you don't watch,” he said.
The first episode of the show saw actor Will Mellor and Nancy Xu and presenter Hamza Yassin and Jowita Przystal top the leaderboard with an incredible 34 points each.
Meanwhile, Tony Adams and Katya Jones found themselves at the bottom of the leaderboard with 15 points, with Matt Goss and Nadiya Bychkova just above them with 20 points.
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