Strictly Come Dancing star Karen Hauer has said it would be “incredible” to dance with a female contestant on the show.

Last year boxer Nicola Adams and her professional partner Katya Jones made history on the show as the became first same-sex couple to compete in the BBC One celebrity dancing competition.

Hauer told Hello! magazine she would be keen to follow in their footsteps.

Strictly Come Dancing Launch 2019 – London
Karen Hauer (Ian West/PA)

“A same-sex partner would be incredible,” she said.

“The support behind Strictly’s first same-sex couple last year was extraordinary.

“I can only imagine our wonderful viewers this year would support it just as much, if not more.”

Hauer, who has appeared in Strictly since 2012, said her time on the programme has “flown by so quickly and it’s incredible”.

When asked if she would like to celebrate a decade on the show by lifting the trophy, she added: “Of course, I’d love to bring the Glitterball home at some point.

(Hello!/PA)

“It would be lovely to win in my 10th series, but it is not so much about the winning.

“I love the show so much and making people fall in love with dancing.”

Hauer, who danced with reality star Jamie Laing in the last series of Strictly, added she has changed a lot as a person since she first joined the show.

“The girl of 2012 is a different version of the woman I am now,” she said.

“I’m more confident in myself than I was back in 2012 and I’m sure of who I am as a person, as a woman in this industry.

“It’s been about discovering who I am, the person I want to be.”

Read the full interview in Hello! magazine, out now.