Strictly Come Dancing star Bethany Antonia feels 'privileged'
Bethany Antonia is thrilled to part of the new series of Strictly Come Dancing.
Bethany Antonia feels privileged to be in a same-sex dance pairing on Strictly Come Dancing.
The 28-year-old actress and Nancy Xu have been partnered on the BBC show, and they are set to become the third all-female same-sex pairing on Strictly Come Dancing.
Bethany told Radio Times: "It feels like the biggest privilege in the world. I have been quite open about this, but watching Nicola [Adams] and Katya [Jones] do this in 2020 was a huge part of my life.
"It was a huge part of watching people in my family accept this beautiful show that we'd watched for years and years and years, and see this new way of the girls doing it together, and then being so accepting and exciting about it made me feel proud."
The actress always thought that if she ever appeared on Strictly, it had to be "with a woman".
Bethany - who publicly came out as gay in 2024 - added: "So now it just feels like I just can't believe that we're here and we're doing it. And it was a thing that I talked into existence, so it feels like a real privilege."
Bethany's mum is also thrilled that she's appearing on the new series of Strictly.
The TV star - who plays Lady Baela Targaryen in the HBO fantasy series House of the Dragon - said: "Every time she goes into a shop, she tells the person behind the counter.
"She called me the other day in the fish shop, and she was like, 'One sec babe. It's just my daughter. She's going to be on Strictly, so I'll get that.' And she's going to come every single week. She's made it very clear it's her and a plus one every week.
"So I think my mum, she's the most excited, and my best friend Anna, who we have watched the show together every Saturday since I moved to London, and we've entered the ballot every year to try and get tickets, and never got tickets. And then this year I was like, 'Babe, we're going to Strictly!'"
