BBC defends editing out trans rights slogan on Strictly contestant’s T-shirt

The BBC has defended its decision to edit out a transgender rights slogan from a T-shirt worn by a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing, stating it was standard practice to avoid “overt branding or slogans”.

The actor Bethany Antonia was filmed wearing the T-shirt, which bore the slogan “Protect the Dolls”, during rehearsals before her live performance on Saturday night.

The slogan has become a sign of support for the rights of trans women, with proceeds from sales of the T-shirt donated to the UK trans charity, Not A Phase.

However, the T-shirt’s wording was edited out, making it appear plain white, during footage of Antonia’s rehearsals shown on Saturday’s show. The edited version also appears on the BBC’s iPlayer platform.

The T-shirt, produced by the designer Conner Ives, has previously been worn by prominent figures such as the actors Pedro Pascal and Tilda Swinton, as well as the singer Troye Sivan.

A social media video posted by the BBC last week had shown Antonia, who stars in House of the Dragon, training in the T-shirt with her professional dance partner, Nancy Xu. At that point, the slogan on the T-shirt was clearly visible.

However, when footage of their rehearsals was shown during Saturday’s show, Antonia was instead seen wearing a plain white T-shirt.

The BBC said edits were made to meet editorial guidelines.

A spokesperson said: “As is standard practice on any entertainment show on the BBC and in line with our editorial guidelines, appropriate steps are taken to reduce the inclusion of any overt branding or slogans that may be present, regardless of the wording or statement in question.”

Antonia has not commented on the BBC’s editing.

The BBC has previously edited clothing to meet either its own editorial standards or other broadcasting rules.

In 2017, the BBC blurred out a T-shirt worn by the Clean Bandit singer Grace Chatto proclaiming support for the then Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn. She had been wearing it in a video message to the One Love Manchester concert for victims of the Manchester arena terrorist attack.

The event took place in the pre-election period during which extra broadcasting impartiality rules kicked in. “In order to include Clean Bandit’s message in a montage of well-wishing clips, the T-shirt was blurred,” a spokesperson said.

In 2024, writing on a T-shirt worn by Kaiser Chiefs’ singer Ricky Wilson, which read “Trans Rights Are Human Rights”, appeared to have been blurred out by the BBC in certain shots during an episode of Michael McIntyre’s Big Show.