BBC Strictly crowns first drag queen star Tayce as winner of Christmas special after perfect score amid backlash
Tayce has been crowned this year’s Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special winner alongside pro partner Kai Widdrington.
The drag performer, who’s publicly hit back at the criticism of their inclusion in the line-up, wowed the studio audience and judges alike with their routine.
Alongside Widdrington, Tayce took on a Cha-Cha to Kylie and Dannii Minogue’s toe-tapping hit, 100 Degrees.
Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood, Anton Du Beke, and Motsi Mabuse were so bowled over by Tayce’s performance that they awarded the 30-year-old a perfect score of 40.
Tayce was applauded by their fellow Strictly stars as they gleefully lifted the Glitterball aloft with Widdrington in tow.
In the festive special, Tayce faced competition in the form of fellow celebs Josh Widdicombe, Vogue Williams, Tamzin Outhwaite, Billy Monger and Harry Aikines-Aryeetey.
Widdicombe had been partnered with Karen Hauer following her early series exit with Paul Merson earlier this year while Williams was paired Gorka Márquez after original partner Carlos Gu had to bow out of the special.
Elsewhere, Outhwaite joined forces with Nikita Kuzmin who bowed out of the flagship series with Sam Quek and Monger was paired with Widdrington’s ex Nadiya Bychkova.
Completing the line-up was Gladiatior and Celebrity MasterChef star Aikines-Aryeetey who peerformed with Nancy Xu.
Tayce’s victory will undoubtedly be made sweeter for the drag artist following the backlash they faced prior to the festive edition’s broadcast.
The BBC show’s bosses came under fire from some for including a drag artist in the line-up of what’s typically viewed as a “family-friendly” show.
Elsewhere, Tayce also faced criticism for their sassy conduct when they were unveiled as a contestant on an episode of Strictly spin-off series It Takes Two.
However, Tayce and Widdrington managed to not let the criticism weigh them down, with the drag artist previously hitting back at the backlash.
They previously told the BBC: “It’s such an honour to be part of this amazing and highly popular show, pushing the envelope and breaking boundaries as the first drag queen to appear on it.
“The response has been overwhelmingly positive, though there’s also been some negativity from trolls, but that’s nothing I can’t handle.”
And Tayce went one step further a few days before the Christmas special, quipping that the criticism only flooded in “because I look hot”.
“I’ve seen hate, I’ve seen it’s controversial, it’s provocative but that’s all the things that I am I wouldn’t change that for the world,” Tayce said to Mail Online.
“I think there was a lot of backlash from people being like, ‘Oh, it’s the man or they’re taking up a woman’s space’, and things like that.
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“I think some people honestly just have a bit of a complex because I look hot and they can’t take it. It’s true.
“If you’re a bit angry and offended, I’m probably doing something right. At the end of the day, I was raised with good loving parents.
“And they always said, as long as you’re not hurting anybody and doing what you love there’s nothing more I can ask for.
“I’m a good person. I’m respectful. I might look a certain way. If you can’t handle that, that’s your problem.
“And any hate that I get online. There’s going to be hate and more. So bring it on. It’s going to make me dance harder,” Tayce concluded.