Two-time Olympic boxing champion Nicola Adams says she wants to break down barriers by dancing in a same-sex couple on Strictly Come Dancing.

Adams, who announced her retirement in November 2019, was revealed as a contestant on this year’s series earlier this month.

"I guess it’s just breaking those boundaries and showing people that it’s OK,” she told The Guardian.

“It’s not such an uncommon thing: professional dancers dance with people of the same sex all the time; you dance in a nightclub with your friends. I just wanted to break down the thing of it being a big deal when it’s not really a big deal.”

And she added while she won’t be wearing dresses as they aren’t her ‘thing’, she hopes Strictly brings out the fun side of her.

She will be a part of the first same-sex contestant-professional partnership in the show’s history, though two male professionals, Johannes Radebe and Graziano Di Prima, danced together in a routine in the last series.

While the BBC was applauded for the move, it also received 200 complaints last year but Adams says the response to her news has been overwhelmingly positive.

“Which is good to see. I guess it shows that everybody’s mentally evolving and in a place where they’re a lot more open-minded.

"There’s always going to be people who don’t like you. But I’ve got a lot of people who do.”

She came out as gay to her mum at 14 but once again had to clarify she was a lesbian and not bisexual on Twitter a few weeks ago.

She has said she doesn’t want to be in a ‘box’ at all.

"[Being referred to as bisexual in the press] was getting annoying. I know there will be kids who are struggling.

"And I’d just like them to know that it doesn’t matter about your sexuality or what colour you are, you really can achieve anything you want to if you work hard.”