Ellie Simmonds had the whole Strictly Come Dancing studio in bits with a stunning waltz with pro partner Nikita Kuzmin.
The Paralympic swimmer and the Ukrainian dancer were open during the week about the ‘challenges’ they faced while trying to adapt their ballroom hold, as Ellie has dwarfism.
Following her performance on Saturday night, Ellie admitted she and the waltz were ‘not friends’ initially, but she now wants to do it every week after receiving glowing praise from the judges.
She danced beautifully to a rendition of Can’t Help Falling in Love, leaving Shirley Ballas and Motsi Mabuse on their feet.
After a slow and sensitive performance, Motsi said the dance gave her ‘the biggest goose bumps ever.’
Craig Revel Horwood added: ‘It had flow darling and I particularly loved the expression in your arms and hands, really really great.’
Meanwhile, head judge Shirley said she was ’emotional’ trying to give her comments, praising: ‘There is so much magic in something so simple.’
And after Ellie said she wanted to inspire others with her Strictly journey, Shirley said: ‘You show people we can all do what we love.’
The gold medallist and her pro scored two sevens and two eights from the panel, giving her a total score of 30, an increase on last week.
And it wasn’t just the judges – and Ellie’s tearful mum in the audience – who fell in love with her performance, as viewers at home branded it ‘one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen on this show.’
‘Ellie put the Ellie in elegant,’ another punny viewer tweeted.
‘Ellie Simmonds absolutely beautiful. Serving elegance, poise – perfection!’, tweeted another.
The smiley Bristolian will be counting on those viewers pulling through for her in the first public vote of the series, as no couple wants to be the first ones out.
Strictly Come Dancing airs Saturday and Sunday on BBC One.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
MORE : Strictly Come Dancing star Hamza Yassin insists he feels absolutely ‘no pressure’ despite being top of leaderboard
MORE : Strictly star Ellie Taylor received ‘most gorgeous’ message of support from Ted Lasso co-star Hannah Waddingham
var notifyQ = function () { var i = 0, l = awaitingReady.length; for (i = 0; i < l; i++) { awaitingReady[i](); } }; var ready = function (cb) { if (fbApiInit) { cb(); } else { awaitingReady.push(cb); } }; var checkLoaded = function () { return fbApiInit; }; window.fbAsyncInit = function () { FB.init({ appId: '176908729004638', xfbml: true, version: 'v2.10' }); fbApiInit = true; notifyQ(); }; return { 'ready' : ready, 'loaded' : checkLoaded }; })(); (function () { function injectFBSDK() { if ( window.fbApi && window.fbApi.loaded() ) return; var d = document, s="script", id = 'facebook-jssdk'; var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) { return; } js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.async = true; js.src = "https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); } if (window.metro) { window.addEventListener('scroll', injectFBSDK, {once: true, passive: true}); } else { window.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', injectFBSDK, {once: true}); } })();
For all the latest Entertainment News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
