Nicola Adams pushed for female Strictly partner

Nicola Adams pushed to be paired with a female dance partner on \'Strictly Come Dancing\'.

The Olympic boxer will be part of the first-ever same-sex pairing on the BBC Latin and ballroom dance competition later this year, and the retired fighter, 37, has revealed she asked the show\'s bosses about the opportunity to dance with a fellow woman.

Speaking on \'BBC Breakfast\', she said: "I asked the show about it. They wanted to know if I wanted to be on the show and I said, \'Yeah, I\'ll do it, but I want to dance with another female.\'

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"It\'s really important, it\'s a big step for the show as well. It\'s nice to see that we\'re able to move on. I just can\'t wait to get some dancing done, really."

Nicola believes it is time to make a change by diversifying the show in hopes it will send a positive message to youngsters who might be struggling with their sexuality.

She continued: "I think it\'s really important. It\'s definitely time for change, it\'s definitely time to move on and be more diverse and this is a brilliant step in the right direction. It\'ll be nice for the LGBT community to see there are same-sex couples on the show."

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The Olympic champion could be paired with the likes of \'Strictly\' stars Janette Manrara, Dianne Buswell, Katya Jones or Karen Hauer, but Nicola doesn\'t mind who she dances with as long as they don\'t tower over her, as she is only 5ft 4.

She added: "All the dancers are really good so I don\'t mind which person I\'m paired with, I\'d only be wanting someone who\'s on the short side because I\'m a little bit small.

"People might know me from work in the ring, but I\'ll be every bit as passionate and dedicated on the dancefloor too. I just can\'t wait to get going. It\'s something new, a big adventure, a big challenge."