The first person with Down syndrome to ever compete in a BBC dance competition, Ellie Goldstein, revealed what makes her “nervous” about the wildly watched program.
Ellie Goldstein, the first contestant with Down syndrome to grace the Strictly Come Dancing dance floor, has opened up about her experience on the show. Despite admitting to feeling “nervous”, she also shared what she believes is the “best thing” about being part of the popular BBC dance contest.
In a recent interview with Bella magazine, Ellie and her dance partner, Vito Coppola, discussed their journey on the show. Ellie confessed: “The crowd being enthusiastic makes me nervous”, to which Vito responded: “But we say it’s OK to be nervous because that means that we care.”
Ellie also revealed her favourite part of the Strictly experience, saying: “The best thing about being on Strictly is the early starts and being with Vito the whole day.”
We just want to live life to the full, and make sure we leave with the biggest smiles, Vito continued. Ellie always picks the songs for the warm-up. She enjoys Natasha Bedingfield’s Unwritten.
Ellie, who was among the final 10 couples on the show on Saturday night (November 1), also mentioned that she enjoys Golden, a track from the 2025 film KPop Demon Hunters.
Ellie admitted to feeling “nervous” about the program ahead of the first live performance in September. However, Vito pointed out that a “ritual must be developed before any performance.”
Ellie told the Sun’s TV Magazine that Vito will calm her down if she begins to “feel sick,” possibly with a “piggyback.”
Then Vito revealed that they each have their “own personalised handshake.”
He continued, “We already perform our custom handshake ritual before every performance. And I always keep Ellie’s hand because I promised her safety when we were together. I’ve got you'”.
During week six of the series, which was the annual Halloween special, Ellie and Vito delivered the tango to Lady Gaga’s Abracadabra. In the routine, Ellie, a model who has worked for brands such as Nike, pulled her partner out of a hat.
They went on to score a total of 27 out of 40 points for their performance, placing them in a precarious position on the leaderboard, with fans sharing concerns that Ellie and Vito were in the so-called “death slot”.
Despite this, others have also praised Vito’s partnership with Ellie. One viewer commented, “The height difference between him and Ellie is something that isn’t mentioned enough.” #Strictly”.
Source: Mirror
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