'Strictly Come Dancing' has reportedly signed the first male celebrity to be paired with a same-sex professional dancer.

Graziano Di Prima

Graziano Di Prima

Bosses on the popular BBC show had set their sights on an all-male pairing after Nicola Adams and Katya Jones made history in the last series by becoming the series' first ever same-sex partnership.

Newly-crowned Olympic diving champion Tom Daley and comic Alan Carr are believed to have been approached about competing on the new series, which will air on BBC One later this year.

The star is expected to be paired up with the Italian professional Graziano Di Prima, who teamed up with Johannes Radebe for an emotional all-male routine back in the 2019 series.

A source told The Sun newspaper: "The bosses are thrilled that Strictly will be able to show its first all-male couple this year.

"And they have their sights firmly on Graziano. There is no reason why a gay celebrity should automatically be paired with a gay dancer."

Graziano previously said that he was ready to be part of the first all-male pairing on the show and would be delighted to take on the challenge.

When asked about the rumours that he is set to be part of the first all-male couple, the 27-year-old dancer said: "As long as they're going to be my partner, I will be ready. We don't know yet but my fingers are crossed. If you don't get a partner you're going to be busy anyway but obviously if you get the opportunity to dance with a celebrity, it's different."

Graziano and Johannes' dance two years ago was the first all-male routine in the show's history and the Italian star was thrilled to dance with his close friend.

He said: "It was normal for us because Johannes and I used to dance together every Sunday. So when the production asked us what we thought, we were like, 'Yes, or course!' But we could never have predicted the response - in a good way."