‘You cannot cancel lesbians’: Cast of I Kissed A Girl speak out after show’s sudden cancellation

The cast of the BBC dating show I Kissed A Girl have hit back at the broadcaster’s decision to cancel the show after just two seasons.

The BBC decided to axe the dating show back in March, before the second season had even aired, citing funding as the reason behind the decision.

However, in a new and exclusive interview with the Metro, the stars of the second season have clapped back, and the consensus is they’re not happy.

‘You cannot cancel lesbians’

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Speaking to Metro, Imogen, who is currently starring on the second series, openly expressed her anger and disappointment at the decision of the broadcaster to axe the show, claiming: “You cannot cancel lesbians.”

Imogen was not alone in her disappointment, as fellow cast member Tyra expressed a feeling of being let down. She shared feeling that the cancellation of the show wasn’t just a cancellation for the people the show concerns, but also a cancellation of the stories they are sharing. She challenged the decision, arguing “You can’t cancel their stories.”

Much of the anger around the decision stems from the ground-breaking nature of the dating show, and its brother programme I Kissed A Boy. When I Kissed A Boy first aired in 2023, it was a landmark move, as it was the first gay dating show to be streamed in the UK.

The show provided role models for young queer audiences

Season two cast via BBC iPlayer

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The decision to now cancel I Kissed A Girl has felt like a step back to many, preventing a new generation of young queer people from seeing role-models on TV.

Many of the members shared that if queer dating shows had been made more mainstream when they were younger, they would have come out earlier. Another cast member from season two explained if she had access to shows like I Kissed A Girl when she was younger, she’d “probably have come out a lot earlier.”

While Renee, who is also appearing in the second and final series, praised the show for its more emotion-forward method to dating. She offered that the format of the BBC show create a new opportunity for people to better understand “mascs”, breaking down stereotypes which categories them as emotionless women.

Viewers have been left confused and disappointed

Despite the show being cancelled back in March, its newest season has only just started airing. This has left many viewers feeling as though the second season hasn’t even been given a chance.

Many took to Reddit to express their anger and disappointment at the BBC’s decision to axe the show. One wrote: “I haven’t seen much publicity for this but FYI the BBC’s I Kissed A Girl is back for its second (and, naturally, final) season this Tuesday.”

Another voiced their confusion about the publicity for the season, expressing: “It’s so weird that there’s hardly any publicity. They’ll probably cancel it, claiming bad ratings.”

The BBC shows no indication of changing its decision, despite the cast’s anger.

BBC Spokesperson: “We are exceptionally proud of I Kissed A Boy/Girl, the UK’s first dating show for the LGBTQ+ community, and we would like to thank our fabulous cupid Dannii Minogue and the entire team at Twofour for bringing the series to screen.

“Unfortunately, we have to make difficult choices in light of our funding challenges and there are no current plans for the show to return.”

Featured image via BBC iPlayer