Strictly Come Dancing 2022: Ellie Simmonds says being first dwarf on show ‘a real honour’

The five-time Paralympic gold medal winner, 27, is looking forward to representing people with disabilities
Five-time Paralympic gold medal winner Ellie Simmonds says she’s excited to be the first person with dwarfism to take part on Strictly Come Dancing
Getty Images for The National Lo
Tina Campbell8 August 2022
The Weekender

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and theatre ticket deals

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Ellie Simmonds says she is excited about taking part in this year’s Strictly Come Dancing, especially being the first person with dwarfism to compete.

The five-time Paralympic gold medal winning swimmer, 27, is looking forward to representing people with disabilities as she prepares to follow in the footsteps of deaf EastEnders actress Rose Ayling-Ellis, who won last year’s series alongside professional dancer Giovani Pernice.

“I’ll be so, so nervous, and I will try not to think of all the people watching,” Simmonds told the Mirror while attending the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham on Sunday.

“I am the first dwarf doing the show, I will show how positive that is, that to be different is OK. It is a real honour.”

She also admitted having to keep the fact that she had been chosen for the latest series a secret for quite some time.

“I told my other half Matt, and my parents, but I only told my sister this morning. It is a family tradition to watch it every year,” she told the publication.

“To be part of it is so exciting. It’ll be great to swap the goggles and the hat for the sequins and the make-up.”

This year marks Strictly’s 20th anniversary which will return to BBC One in the autumn hosted by Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman.

The full line-up of celebrities taking part has yet to be announced.

In addition to Simmonds, other contestants so far confirmed include Bros singer Matt Goss, Kiss FM DJ Tyler West, comedian Jayde Adams, Loose Women presenter Kaye Adams, Radio 2 host Richie Anderson, Hear’Say singer and soap star Kym Marsh, and former Hollyoaks actor Will Mellor.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in