Paralympic swimmer Ellie Simmonds trolled online after debut on BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing

Ellie Simmonds took to the dance floor for the first time on Saturday night as part of Strictly Come Dancing 2022.

Despite receiving compliments and a good score from the BBC judges, the Paralympic swimmer, 27, sadly revealed that she has been left feeling sad as she has “already” been trolled online for her height.

Ellie, who was born in Aldridge, has achondroplasia dwarfism which affects bone growth - meaning the gold medallist has a normal sized torso but shorter limbs.

The five-time Paralympian first broke history by appearing at the Beijing Games in 2008, where she became Britain’s youngest competitor at age 13.

She retired from the sport in 2021, but has continued to make records by adding to the Strictly history books as the first person with dwarfism to take part.

Ellie previously admitted that although she was nervous about what people were going to say about the height difference between herself and her partner Nikita Kuzmin, 24, who stands at 5ft9, she wanted to inspire others.

The 4ft athlete told the BBC show ahead of her first dance, the Cha Cha Cha: “If I can do it, people watching can too.

“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 dance show on a Saturday night, it would just be something so special.”

She added to The Sun that her boyfriend Matt, who also has dwarfism, urged her to compete, saying: “When I got the call I did wonder whether I should do it, then I thought I’d do a leap of faith. You don’t know until you try.”

On their first try, Ellie and Nikita received a score of 26 from judges Anton Du Beke, Motsi Mabuse, Shirley Ballas and Craig Revel-Horwood for their dance to DNCE’s song Dance, with the latter saying the five-time Paralympian champ had “excellent” rhythm and attitude.

Swapping the goggles and swim cap, Ellie faced another first by wearing high heels for the first time and admitted on social media that while she fought nerves, she wanted to do the dance all over again.

However, following the swimmer’s elation, the star revealed that she was already experiencing abuse online from keyboard warriors.

She said: “I’ve had [trolling] already. Some people have said, ‘How’s the dwarf going to dance?’ It’s sad and it does get to you.”

Ellie is the show’s seventh contestant taking part with a disability, following the likes of Johnny Peacock and last year’s winner Rose Ayling-Ellis who was born deaf.

This year, Ellie’s fellow competitors consist of singer Fleur East, actor Will Mellor and actress Kym Marsh.

However, despite the online trolls, Ellie will take on her competition with the gusto of a five-time Paralympian.

You can watch partners Ellie and Nikita next Saturday on BBC One or on iPlayer at 6.30pm.