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Paralympian Ellie Simmonds made her Strictly Come Dancing debut on BBC One with partner Nikita Kuzmin at the weekend. Ellie, 27, and Nikita, 24, received compliments from the judges following their Cha Cha Cha and gained an impressive 26 points in their first week. However, Nikita addressed why he has been “very strict” with the athlete when they are training for the dance competition.
Following their performance on Saturday night, Strictly host Claudia Winkleman praised Ellie before calling Nikita “very strict”.
Claudia added: “You’ve been very strict because in training you are like, ‘No more talking.'”
The Ukrainian dancer replied: “Yeah, the thing is with Ellie we are doing a very serious Cha Cha Cha.
“Then, at a certain point, Ellie goes, ‘What’s the middle name of your grandmother?'”
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Ellie told The Sun she was convinced to take part in the show with the help of her boyfriend Matt, who also has dwarfism.
The judges gushed over Ellie’s opening performance on the ballroom floor, with Anton Du Beke commenting: “You powered across the floor. Your side-by-side work was great, your timing was excellent. It was good.”
Veteran judge Craig Revel Horwood added: “I have to agree with Anton, the timing, your attitude, the rhythm, your isolation. It was excellent.”
Motsi Mabuse remarked: “I absolutely love this team. What I love is this focus, you understand what the dance was about.”
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