Strictly Come Dancing's Ellie Simmonds responds to 'sad' trolling over dwarfism

Former Strictly Come Dancing pro AJ Pritchard has clashed with TV host Jeremy Kyle after the latter branded the show "so woke it's unwatchable". Jeremy - who used to have his own self-named show on ITV - was filling in for Piers Morgan on Wednesday’s Piers Morgan: Uncensored, aired on TalkTV, as he discussed BBC's most-celebrated show.

Strictly Come Dancing stars Ellie Simmonds and Nikita Kuzmin will take to the dance floor for the second time on Saturday night (October 1) and have shared on spin-off show It Takes Two that it's been a "challenging week". Ellie, 27, is a gold medal-winning Paralympian.

Strictly Come Dancing stars Ellie Simmonds and Nikita Kuzmin have faced a "challenging week" ahead of their second live performance. The gold medallist Paralympian, 27, is the first star to take part in the BBC dancing show with achondroplasia, which is a form of short-limbed dwarfism. Celebs and pros are usually paired together based largely on height, though Ellie and Nikita will have an immediate challenge on their hands due to their difference in stature - Ellie's 4ft to Nikita's 5'9.

Rose Ayling-Ellis, winner of last year's Strictly Come Dancing, has spoken out against an article which draws comparisons between her and Ellie Simmonds, who is competing on the show this year.She said in a series of posts on her Instagram Story: “Please don’t compare me to Ellie. We both have completely different life experiences that it’s just not comparable.”This comes after an article was published which complained that TV shows like Strictly were “pushing indigestible quantities of diversity down viewers’ throats”. READ MORE: Strictly's Craig Revel Horwood defends Matt Goss after Anton Du Beke's catty remark She continued by saying: “Just be open to listen and learn.

Strictly Come Dancing star Matt Goss is currently strutting his stuff alongside Nadiya Bychkova - and fans are loving it.The heart throb, who first rose to fame in eighties band Bros, quick stepped to Sir Duke on Saturday night, and viewers are eagerly awaiting to see what the pair will do next.READ MORE: Strictly's Craig Revel Horwood defends Matt Goss after Anton Du Beke's catty remarkAlong with reuniting with twin brother Luke Goss for a series of Bros concerts in 2017, and the release of his latest album The Beautiful Unknown, fans just can't get enough of the music star.As Matt and Luke Goss turn 54 years old today, Daily Star takes a closer look inside Matt's life.Long before Strictly Come Dancing, Matt Goss rose to fame alongside twin brother Luke and their friend Craig Logan in the eighties boyband Bros.Known for their songs including I Owe You Nothing and When Will I Be Famous, along with their chart topping 1988 album Push, the group sold more than 16 million records worldwide.They amassed such as a huge fan base, that their fame was dubbed "Brosmania," by the music press - resulting in part of Oxford Street in London being closed off by the police when a jaw-dropping amount of fans turned up for an album signing at HMV.However in 1989, Craig left the band, with Matt and Luke continuing as a duo.They released two further albums called The Time and Changing Faces, but by 1992, the group had decided to disband.From there, Matt has continued to be a successful singer-songwriter, performing residencies at The Palms, Ceasars Palace and Mirage in Las Vegas.He also recently released his latest album, The Beautiful Unknown, in 2022.Speaking about the album and performing the songs in a series of tour dates earlier this

Future brides will get the chance to tie the knot in wedding dresses worn in the iconic soap Coronation Street after they were donated to a Stockport charity shop.

Hamza Yassin has slammed claims that Strictly Come Dancing is a "woke box-ticking exercise" because it casts same-sex couples and contestants with disabilities.The Strictly star and Countryfile host weighed in on the woke row on Thursday's episode (September 29) of Steph's Packed Lunch, where he appeared with pro dancer Jowita Przystal.He hit back at the claims, calling them "nonsense" and defending his fellow Strictly star Ellie Simmonds, who has dwarfism.READ MORE:Strictly's Hamza Yassin sparks concern as he suffers nasty knee issue just one week inWhen host Steph McGovern asked him how he felt about the Strictly row, Hamza shook his head in disapproval before launching into a passionate rant stressing the need for representation on the show.Hamza replied: "In the kindest way possible, I think it's nonsense, because inclusivity is the most important, and more importantly representation. Never in a million years did we think that we'd need representation, but we do need it."To see someone of a similar sex, age, ethnicity, height, whatever it is, body size.

Loose Women panellists made a cheeky request to Strictly Come Dancing star Kai Widdrington on Thursday's (29 September) show.Kai appeared on Thursdays episode of Loose Women to talk about his time on Strictly with Kaye Adams so far and the Loose Women panellists asked if he could include Kaye's cheeky twerking in their next dance.Nadia Sawalha said: "What we need to know is if next week you can incorporate this move." READ MORE: Brutal Strictly fans think they already know who will be booted off the show firstThey then showed a video of Kaye twerking upside down against a wall as she laughed and said: "Oh my God you can't get away with anything!"Nadia laughed and said: "You didn't know that about her did you?"Because for me that showed me something about you." Kaye interrupted: "I don't know what it showed you! Kai said: "I'm shocked!" Loose Women star Kaye is one of the contestants on this years show looking to win the Glitterball trophy. On Saturday Kaye made her debut on Strictly and performed the Tango to Abba’s Voulez-Vous.

This Morning descended into chaos today as Gino D'Acampo took over presenting from Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield.

Strictly Come Dancing waltzed back onto our scenes on Saturday night, bringing a whole host of celebrities who took to the dancefloor to show off their ballroom moves. But how much do you know about the hit BBC show?Superfans can test their Strictly knowledge by taking our quiz - and find out if you deserve to lift the glitterball trophy for yourself.Season 20 will see the likes of Helen Skelton, Ellie Simmonds and Will Mellor gracing the ballroom floor in the hopes of being crowned the Strictly champion.And what better way to welcome the show back than to remember iconic contestants and tear jerking performances from the past 19 years? From previous winners to movie week madness, prove that you’re the ultimate Strictly Come Dancing fan by taking our quiz!If you can't see the quiz on your browser, you can find it HERE.Once you've cha-cha-cha'd your way through the quiz, quickstep into the comments and let us know how many questions you got right!And don’t forget to sign up to our TV newsletter to get all of the latest gossip on the show straight to your inbox.

Strictly Come Dancing waltzed back onto our screens on Saturday night, as the hit BBC show celebrates its 20th anniversary.Avid viewers watched their favourite celebrities shimmy across the ballroom before being scored by judges Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke.To mark the incredible milestone, four new professional dancers have joined the team, making it the biggest line-up the show has ever had.From cricketers to comedians, Strictly has seen our favourite stars lift the Glitterball trophy after delivering sensational performances and fantastic foxtrots.With so many spectacular performances over the last 20 years, who is your favourite winning couple of Strictly Come Dancing?Cast your vote below!

Gino D'Acampo has spent months away from This Morning but he's back - and the chaos has come with him. The Italian chef took a break from appearing in the ITV daytime show's kitchen earlier this year as he spent his summer in Sardina.

Jeremy Kyle and former Strictly Come Dancing pro AJ Pritchard were at loggerheads. AJ and his former Love Island brother Curtis Pritchard appeared on Wednesday’s edition of Piers Morgan Uncensored on talkTV alongside host and former TV Critic Kevin O’Sullivan.

Strictly Come Dancing beauty Motsi Mabuse stays covered up off camera “to avoid having everyone stare at my boobs”.She admitted she deliberately dresses down in real life to hide her ample assets. The Strictly Come Dancing judge confessed: “After the show, Diva Motsi likes to slum it: quite the opposite of my usual sophisticated showmanship. “I love wearing my baggy black Minnie Mouse sweatshirt, with Minnie’s big black ears and the red bow between them.

Fifteen celebs took to the dancefloor for the first time at the weekend as they launched the Strictly Come Dancing class of 22. A host of stars kicked off the BBC dance contest to take us through autumn through to December and topping the leaderboard on Saturday night was snake-hipped Will Mellor.

Snake-hipped Will Mellor has revealed his tactic to win the BBC dance show after topping the leaderboard in the first week. The Coronation Street heart-throb, who played villain Harvey Gaskell in the soap, wowed viewers and judges with his sensational moves as he wiggled his way across the dancefloor on Saturday night.

Strictly Come Dancing professional James Jordan, 44, regularly shares his honest opinion about the show's dancing duos on social media.

Ellie Simmonds has been faced with awful messages from trolls after appearing on the launch show of BBC's Strictly Come Dancing. The 27 year old Paralympian was left feeling deflated after an onslaught of negative messages emerged online despite receiving compliments from all of the judges while performing alongside professional dancer Nikita Kuzmin.Before the popular dance compeition kicked off, Ellie who has achondroplasia dwarfism, confessed she was nervous to sign up for the show due to the keyboard warriors.READ MORE: James Jordan claims Strictly judges 'softened' Ellie Simmonds dance critique Speaking to The Sun about receiving negative comments, the swimmer said: "I’ve had it already.

Strictly Come Dancing quickstepped its way onto our TV screens on Saturday night (September 27) – and a dance expert has since revealed the celebrity that they think has the "best overall chance of winning".Stars including Matt Goss, Ellie Simmonds, Will Mellor, Fleur East and Hamza Yassin took to the dance floor with their professional partners, as the latest series of the BBC competition got underway at the weekend.However, one celebrity in particular could be in the front running to lift the glitterball trophy – Kaye Adams.READ NEXT: Become a fab-u-lous judge - cast your scores to our Strictly Come Dancing scoreboardSpeaking to Heart Bingo, dancing expert Dr Jill Rose Jacobs revealed the Loose Women presenter is her favourite to win and revealed her reasons why, saying: "It was a very fun launch show. The Friday launch show spotlighted each celebrity’s athleticism (or lack thereof), musicality, expressivity, and likability."My immediate feeling it that Kaye Adams has the best overall chance of winning."Speaking of the night's performances, she also said: "Kaye Adams' performance brought me to tears."However, Dr Jill, who was previously a professor of dance at New York University, aired her comments with a note of caution, adding that Kaye winning "will depend on her gaining confidence in her elegant stature".