The BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing has been embroiled in a sexism row as the judges have been accused of making “predatory” comments to male dancers and contestants.

       After the first two episodes of this year’s competition, the BBC received 128 complaints in relation to sexist comments about a male contestant, blasphemous language and viewers finding a same-sex dance partnership inappropriate.

       Tensions this year seem to have boiled over as it is understood that in previous years, the BBC has not received close to this amount of complaints, if any at all, about sexism against male contestants.

       The first week of series 19 saw judge Shirley Ballas tell contestant Uge Monye, a former rugby player, that in his “pink outfit, you have all the gear, my dear… there is not a part of your body that doesn’t want to move, even if it’s not supposed to, it wants to.”

       “And that’s what I like,” she added.

       While it is not clear whether the complaints to the BBC refer to her remarks, this year’s series has already seen other comments to a male dancer that a male sexual abuse and rape charity boss has argued show a “double standard”.

       During last week’s episode, judge Craig Revel Horwood told professional male dancer Gorka Márquez that "it really has made my night seeing you on all fours, darling."

       Duncan Craig, founder and CEO of Survivors Manchester, said that if this remark had been said to a female contestant by a man, “there would be absolute outrage, and quite rightly so.”

       He added: “I think we have to say it’s a double standard and I think it sometimes feels like it’s an uncomfortable thing to say, but the double standard is really harmful.”

       Mr Craig said there was “a sort of acceptability when it comes from a male to a male, or it comes from a female to a male,” and that this is what needs to be tackled.

       “I'd be interested to see what people said if it was a straight male saying it to a male contestant, would they see something different, would they see it as being predatory, or would they say it in the same way as people often present that kind of thing - the camp TV presenter or TV judge saying it,” he added.

       Complaints about gender discrimination

       A review of audience complaints to Ofcom found that out of the 113 complaints made about Strictly since April 2017, six fell into the category of gender discrimination and offence.

       However, examples are not limited to this year alone, with Mr Revel Horwood telling male contestant Kevin Fletcher in 2019: "Well you’re obviously in touch with yourself darling. We can certainly see that. It was full of machismo which I loved. It oozed masculinity. It was filth."

       Peter Tatchell, a prominent gay rights campaigner, said that “supposedly harmless banter” can sometimes convey “a whiff of sexism and homophobia”.

       “Cheap, smutty gags are no substitute for intelligent wit and astute judging of the male dancers.

       “I’m all in favour of free speech, but the sexual objectification and innuendo directed at the Strictly men is tawdry and unnecessary,” he added.

       A spokesperson for The Survivors Trust, an organisation that offers support services for rape and sexual abuse victims, said that these sorts of jokes “can be very harmful to male survivors of sexual abuse.”

       “Sadly, joking about and dismissing sexual violence and harassment against men and boys is still commonplace in society.”

       The BBC and Strictly Come Dancing judges mentioned were asked for comment.