The Paralympic star swimmer talks Strictly shockers, Christmas kisses, and the complexity of becoming a mum as someone with a disability
Cosying up on the sofa with her family this Christmas Paralympic swimmer Ellie Simmonds will be tuning into the Strictly Special. She hopes by then that she will also have something to celebrate – as she has been rooting for her pal Karen Carney to win. Ellie, 31, says: “A fellow sports star! She’s doing incredibly. She’s literally the kindest, loveliest person ever. She’s so sweet, and then, from being a footballer to what she’s doing now on the show, is just phenomenal. Her couple’s choice blew me away.
“She got through to the semi finals this weekend, so I’m rooting for her. I think she’ll win. But you never know, because even last weekend, there was a shock exit with Lewis. I was so surprised.! Everyone expected him to be in the finals. That’s the thing with the show, you never know, and it’s all about the votes. I got my friends all to vote for Karen on Saturday and probably will again this weekend.”
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When hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman announced they would be departing from Strictly at the end of this series, no one was more shocked than Ellie, who came 10th when she was on Strictly in 2022 . “They’ll always be part of the Strictly family and I’m sure whatever they do in the future will be incredible. Claudia’s doing phenomenally well, isn’t she, with, The Traitors and The Piano on Channel 4? She does so much stuff.
“I think it’d be really interesting to see who replaces them. It won’t be me for sure – I’m happy to be watching. I’ll leave it to the professionals. I may enjoy making a documentary, but live TV is a different beast.” A fierce supporter of the show, she praises Strictly for championing disability. “We’ve seen the likes of Chris [McCausland] last year with visual impairment, winning it and just showing the country that you can do anything, no matter what,” she says. “Then Rose [Ayling-Ellis] won in the past. Then this year, the likes of Ellie (Goldstein).”
She also praises ITV’s The Assembly, which sees 35 autistic, neurodivergent and learning disabled people interview well known British personalities. Ellie says: “TV is a powerful platform to educate society on different disabilities, is amazing, and it’s doing a good job. More can always be done. One day wouldn’t it be amazing for anyone ever to watch TV and see someone like them front and centre.”
Family means everything to Paralympic swimmer Ellie, who is looking forward to spending Christmas at home in the Midlands with mum Val and dad Steve. Her sisters Katie and Pauline will be there too, along with her brother Steven. Sadly, Simmonds’s eldest sister, Georgina, died in 2013 at the age of 45. In 2008, aged just 13 Ellie swam her way into the history books at the Beijing Paralympic Games, as the second youngest Paralympian in British history to win a medal. She went on to win two gold medals in her first Games. The next year, in 2009, she became the youngest person ever to receive an MBE.
“That’s what I love about Christmas – it’s all being together, you know? No one is working. There’s no emails. You can just relax for a bit and just eat lots of lovely food, watch lots of good TV,” says Ellie, who was born with achondroplasia (dwarfism). I’m obsessed with the King’s speech. The Strictly special will be on too, and Call the Midwife.”
Steve will take charge in the kitchen, says Ellie, 31, who is single and lives in London. “My dad, he is the cook of the house. A couple of days ago we were sent the menus for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. He takes it very seriously. We just leave him to do it because it makes him happy.”
Time spent with family makes her look forward to having her own brood one day. Ellie addressed wanting to be a mother in the ITV documentary, Should I Have Children?, which aired in May this year. She says: “For me it is complicated. I would love children. But if I met someone who also has dwarfism, we would be in danger of something called a ‘double dose’ if I got pregnant. This means that we might both give the baby the dwarf gene. And that means that there’s a possibility that the baby couldn’t survive.”
While most people are supportive, she’s been horrified by some reaction to her saying she wants to be a mum one day. “People are sort of surprised when people with disabilities want to have kids,” says Ellie.
She and all her siblings were adopted by Val and Steve. Ellie herself was adopted when she was about three months old, shortly after her diagnosis of dwarfism was made. The couple also fostered 70 children. In 2023 an incredibly moving documentary, Finding My Secret Family, showed Ellie finding her birth mum. She said: “My birth mother expressed regret and guilt, but was overwhelmingly relieved that I have led the life I have.”
And speaking to the Mirror Ellie says: “Since speaking about my adoption and my journey and my story, so many people have come up to me and said they’re adopted. That’s something I’m super, super proud of. I’m opening up a whole conversation. And it’s crucial that we do talk more about children with a disability being adopted.
“So many children with a disability are still stuck in the care system. People want that ‘perfect’ baby, even when they’ve got a choice of so many more. There’s so many children, and not just those with a disability, looking for a family. Children in a sibling group, kids older than seven, those who maybe have a different race or ethnic minorities, they’re seen as harder to place as well.”
Ellie continues: “Perfect is a horrible word – what does it mean? Many people want these Instagrammable photos of baby showers – and then the babies. For mums to be as well, I want them to know that if your baby will be born with a disability – it’s not the end of the world. You’ll love them no matter what. They may need more hospital appointments, they may need some more care and all that, but it can be done. A baby is a baby at the end of the day.”
Ellie is living testament that all you need is love, not perfection. She was recently unveiled as an ambassador for Dogs Trust, and hopes to fulfil a lifelong dream of owning one soon. “Sadly my dad is super, super allergic to dogs. So we could never have a dog growing up. We had everything else: guinea pigs, birds, cats. We had a horse. And I always said to my mum I really would love a dog. Can we not trade dad for a dog? I so wanted one.”
But while she might find a dog under the tree this Christmas, a kiss, she says, is firmly off the cards. “Sadly not for me this year… I’ll be happy just to spend this Christmas with my family. I’m very into plants at the moment too, so I’m hoping for some of those on Christmas Day. preferably ones that I can’t kill. Pyjamas and slippers too.”
*Ellie Simmonds is working with Dogs Trust to launch their Happy Place campaign. The charity has released a new report – The Happy Place Index – following research which spoke to 5,002 dog owners across the UK to establish the great lengths we all go to in order to keep our dogs content and happy. To read the report, and for tips on how to increase your dog’s happiness, see HERE
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Source: Mirror
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