Strictly Come Dancing star Ellie Simmonds has revealed she sees Rose Ayling-Ellis as an “inspiration” – and says we need to “celebrate” diversity.
It comes as the show faced a backlash from critics claiming the show is a “woke box-ticking exercise” for casting same-sex couples and contestants with disabilities.
Paralympic swimmer Ellie, 27, has won four gold medals for Great Britain and bagged 10 world records during her amazing athletic career.
READ MORE:Strictly’s Hamza Yassin slams ‘woke’ claims and defends co-star from ‘nonsense’ critics
But she’s ditched the pool for the famous BBC ballroom, where she’s competing with show pro #Nikita Kuzmin for a chance to win yet another competition.
(Image: PA)
Ellie told Daily Star and other press that we need to “celebrate” the fact that everybody’s different, praising the show’s inclusive nature as it gives children something to “relate to”.
Asked if she sees Rose as an inspiration, she confirmed: “Yeah, yeah. No definitely. Rose, Jonnie [Peacock] previously, Will [Bayley], JJ [Chalmers], Lauren [Steadman]. There’s so many.”
“Having disabilities and LGBT [representation] on primetime TV… if I watched it when I was younger and there was more individuals with different disabilities, who are different on TV, children growing up can realise there’s something to relate to.”
(Image: Instagram/ @rose.a.e)
She added: “We’re not all 5ft, 6ft tall, blonde hair. We’re all different, and I think we’ve got to celebrate that.”
On swapping swimming for dancing, Ellie admitted she was “nervous” but suggested that’s not a bad thing.
She said: “It’s different, isn’t it? Swimming is my comfort zone. I’m nervous for it, but it’s [swimming] something I’ve done since I was like five, whereas this…”
(Image: PA)
The athlete burst out laughing as she admitted she couldn’t name the dances Nikita was talking about during training.
Ex-EastEnders star Rose broke records as the first deaf contestant to appear on the show, but she also went on to lift the glitterball trophy with her pro dance partner, Giovanni Pernice.
Rose herself took to her Instagram to slam the critics during the “woke” row this week, where she praised Ellie and asked people not to compare her to the swimming champ, who lives with dwarfism.
(Image: PA)
She wrote: “Remember if you think TV is too “woke”, you have been living your life being privileged enough not to notice this. It is a huge deal for those from the minority.
“And please don’t compare me to Ellie [Simmonds], we both have completely different life experiences that are just not comparable. Just be open to listen and learn. No disabled people are the same. I myself am learning a lot from Ellie, who is amazing btw!”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
