Paralympian Ellie Simmonds has made history on Strictly Come Dancing.
The gold medallist, who has been paired with Nikita Kuzmin, is the first ever contestant to have achondroplasia dwarfism on the BBC ballroom show. Ellie is 4ft and has been learning about how dancing with an average sized dancer will work.
Her professional dance partner stands at 5ft 9in tall. The swimming star said that they have been learning together and adapting one step at a time.
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Ellie said: "He's never danced with anyone with dwarfism before. And I've never danced before in my life. We're just… going to adapt. Like if I have to hold him differently, I'll hold him differently… but I think if I can do it… people watching from home can realise they can adapt. Dancing is for all."
Speaking about adaptations that have had to be made for her, she said: "With [having] dwarfism, I was able to go down to the studio just to make sure that things can work for me, even something simple like they've given me lower rails so I can put my outfits on. We get physio support and psychology support, too."
She added: "It just gets me emotional really. I’m the first individual with dwarfism to do it in the UK. When I was a kid, if I’d seen someone with dwarfism doing a dancing show on a Saturday night, it would just be something so special."
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