Strictly Come Dancing actress Bethany Antonia has pushed back against criticism after the BBC blurred out a t-shirt she was wearing during rehearsals, featuring the phrase “Protect the dolls”. In a move defended as standard practice, the broadcaster removed the slogan to maintain impartiality, a decision Antonia has now accepted.
The Origins and Backlash of the Phrase
The term “dolls” traces back to the ballroom scene of the 1980s, but the slogan “Protect the dolls” gained significant momentum in 2025 when designer Conner Ives created a white t-shirt bearing the words, with the profits supporting US charity Trans Lifeline. The BBC justified the edit, calling it an “appropriate step to reduce the inclusion of any overt branding or slogans that may be present, regardless of the wording or statement in question.”
Earlier this year, a cohort of British trans activists—including Munroe Bergdorf—wore the shirt on the cover of Glamour magazine to celebrate “The Dolls” as a winner in their annual Woman of the Year awards.
Antonia’s Defence of the BBC Edit
Antonia addressed the controversy via Digital Spy, admitting she did not initially realise the shirt’s ties to a charity or its broader brand implications. “I made a choice to wear that t-shirt without considering the fact that it was linked to a charity, and that it was linked to what some people consider a brand,” she explained.
She maintained that the broadcaster had to do what they had to do to keep things fair for everybody.
The shirt in question has previously been worn by high-profile figures such as Madonna, Pedro Pascal, and Addison Raye.
A Same-Sex Partnership on Strictly
On the televised dance floor, Antonia is partnered with Nancy Xu, forming the only same-sex pairing on this year’s series. Antonia, who is openly lesbian, credited the 2020 dance between Nicola Adams and Katya Jones as a pivotal moment that inspired her to embrace her sexuality publicly.
“When I watched Nicola and Katya do it for the first time and be the first same-sex pairing, I wasn’t out to everyone in my life,” she told BBC News. “Watching them do the show made it so much easier for me to have that conversation with people in my life… It was so important to me to make sure that if I did [Strictly], I got to do it with a woman.”
Upcoming Dance-Off Drama
The elimination stakes remain high in the current season. Former England footballer Shaun Wright-Phillips and Alexis Warr were recently ousted after a dance-off with Jaime Winstone and Carlos Gu, becoming the fourth couple to leave the competition.
Next week, the programme will introduce its very first triple dance-off during a Halloween special episode. Three couples with the lowest combined scores will compete again before the judges pick the final pair to eliminate. Strictly Come Dancing continues this Saturday at 6:30pm on BBC One.
Why it Matters
The incident highlights the ongoing friction between broadcast standards and public expressions of identity on mainstream television. As cultural conversations around trans rights continue to evolve, brands and broadcasters are forced to navigate increasingly sensitive waters. Antonia’s defence of the