Strictly Come Dancing star Ellie Simmonds has been met with resounding praise for her first routine on the dancing competition. The Paralympian, who is the first dwarf to ever dance on the BBC show, achieved an impressive score of 26 alongside her dance partner, Nikita Kuzmin.
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Speaking about her routine, judge Anton du Beke said: "You powered across the power, like, 'Okay, here we go,' and your side-by-side work was great, your characterisation was excellent, I thought it was a great performance."
WATCH: Did you enjoy Ellie and Nikita's routine?
Craig Revel Horwood added: "I have to agree with Anton, the timing, the attitude, the rhythm… fantastic." Motsi Mabuse was also full of praise, saying: "I love this team, you can feel that you guys are a team… allow yourself to enjoy it even more, loved it!"
Shirley Ballas added: "You covered so many of the required elements for Cha Cha… let me tell you of the evening, your timing was beautiful so you have a musicality in there… It was great."
The pair performed a Cha Cha
Fans were loving the routine, with one writing: "Ellie Simmonds putting in a cracking routine and looking fabulous honestly has me tearing up. You go girl!" Another person added: "Ellie and Nikita did really really well; it goes to show that nothing is off limits, and it’s easy to adapt to suit the dancers. how wonderful," while a third wrote: "Ellie Simmonds is the fiercest woman in Britain. Rips up the rule book and just does her. Proud of her."
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Ellie spoke about her journey on the show, telling HELLO! and other reporters: "The disability representation and dwarfism and it's so out my comfort zone and it's about adapting. Nikita and I were saying, ‘How are we going to work it,’ and we’re both in the unknown.
"He’s never danced with anyone with dwarfism before, I’ve never danced before, so how’s it going to work out. I feel like, I’ve seen Rose do it last year, JJ, Lauren and Johnny… The dwarfism community, I've had so many people reaching out, not just in the UK but worldwide like, 'Wow Ellie you're doing this, you're going to help us and represent us.’ It’s a huge, huge honour."
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