Paralympian Ellie Simmonds lined up for Strictly Come Dancing 2017
The swimming champion is firmly in BBC bosses sights for next year’s show
PARALYMPIAN Ellie Simmonds is being lined to star in Strictly Come Dancing 2017.
The champion swimmer is said to be top of the list of talent BBC bosses are hoping to secure for the show.
Ellie was reportedly invited to the semi-finals – which saw fellow sportswoman Claudia Fragapane voted out – to get a feel for the show.
Now producers are hoping she could be persuaded to take part.
An insider told The Mirror: “They wanted to introduce her to the Strictly family and to get a feel for the programme.
“By all accounts, she had a fabulous time. It's early days, but we would love her next year.
“She is our number one choice.”
The 22-year-old, who has achondroplasia dwarfism, is a huge fan of the show and appeared on the spin off show It Takes Two back in 2011.
Speaking about this year’s show, Ellie is backing Hollyoaks star Danny Mac to win.
She said of this year’s competition: “I've loved it. It's something I've loved watching.”
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The final of this year’s show is on December 18 and sees Danny going up against Louis Redknapp and Ore Oduba.
Strictly has been under pressure to reinstate Claudia however after she lost out on last week’s show.
Over 1000 people have signed a petition to bring her back onto the show after fans claimed they couldn’t vote for her because of a problem with the Strictly phone lines.
In a statement on the night, the BBC said: “Apologies, we had a slight technical error at the start of the Vote. If you had problems, please try again. The Vote is open until 20.40.”
Now Claudia’s die-hard fans are trying to changed bosses minds.
The petition reads: “The semi-finals saw fan-favourites Claudia and AJ eliminated after a dance-off with Danny Mac. While it’s sad that they left the competition, it’s the context in which it happened that really bothers us.
“There was a technical glitch with the 30 minute voting window, where fans couldn’t get through to vote for Claudia or Danny (I know, I tried!).”
They ended their statement by imploring Strictly bosses to bring Claudia back, writing: “This is a competition open to the public.
“We call for the usual four Person Final (and Claudia) to return so we can make the decision for ourselves!”
The number of signatures is rising by the hour, with over 1000 people now having signed up to support Olympic star Claudia.
It’s not the first scandal to hit the show following the semi final results.
On Sunday night, fans accused judges Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli, Darcey Bussell and Craig Revel Horwood of over marking Ore Oduba.
The BBC sports presenter leapfrogged Claudia, Danny and Louise Redknapp to the top of the leader board after his dance.
Former Strictly professional James Jordan, 38, believes the judges have deliberately favoured Ore because he is a BBC star.
He told The Sun: “I’ve said for the last eight weeks that they’ve tried to push Ore. I don’t know why — maybe because he’s a BBC presenter?
“It’s clearly wrong. His dance was definitely not a ten, I would have given him a nine.”
James later tweeted his fans and told them he wouldn’t be watching anymore.
He said: “There is just one more thing I would like to say…..
“I HAVE ALWAYS LOVED STRICTLY…But I will no longer be watching.
James later tweeted his fans and told them he wouldn’t be watching anymore.
He said: “There is just one more thing I would like to say…..
“I HAVE ALWAYS LOVED STRICTLY…But I will no longer be watching.
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