Courtney Act feels like a winner after same-sex duo ends dance show as runner-up

Courtney Act has said she feels like a winner after finishing second in Dancing With The Stars Australia as part of the first same-sex couple to compete.

The drag queen, who rose to fame appearing in RuPaul’s Drag Race, thanked viewers for listening to her share “stories” of non-binary people throughout the competition.

Act, the alter-ego of Shane Jenek, was paired with professional partner Joshua Keefe and was a favourite to win the show, part of the Strictly Come Dancing franchise.

But the 37-year-old performer lost out to actor Samuel Johnson during the finale on Monday.

She wrote on Twitter after: “Ladies, Gentlemen, and people of all Genders! We didn’t win the Mirror Ball, but I feel like we won by being able to share so many dances and stories over the last 10 weeks, and sharing it with @JoshuaKeefe has been a true honour

“Thank you everyone who voted and watched. I hope you love this drag extravaganza brought to the ballroom floor for our final dance (can you tell @DancingOn10 said I could do whatever I wanted?)

“I have so many people to thank which I will get to tomorrow, but for now I want to say congratulations to Sam on his win. From day one at the promo shoot to winning it was amazing to watch.

“He totally travelled the furthest in the competition and it was an honour to be pipped to the post by him!”

Act had planned to donate the winnings of about £27,500 to LGBT suicide prevention charity Black Rainbow.

After lifting the mirror ball trophy, Johnson chose to instead gift the money to Love Your Sister, a cancer charity he founded with his sister before her death from the disease.

Act will return to London in May for a run of shows at the Underbelly Festival. She will perform her Under The Covers comedy and singing show from May 12 to 19.