Strictly Come Dancing 2022

[joselync]

Paralympic swimming gold medallist Ellie Simmonds has been announced as the sixth contestant to be taking part in this year's Strictly Come Dancing.

The 27-year-old joins actors Kym Marsh and Will Mellor, comedian Jayde Adams, Loose Women's Kaye Adams and Radio 2's Richie Anderson.

Simmonds said she was "bursting with excitement" about joining the show but also admitted she was "petrified".

The dancing competition is set to return to BBC One in September.

Speaking to Radio 5 Live's Sunday Breakfast, Simmonds said: "I'm so excited, I just want to enjoy every second and try out the sequins and costumes.

"I'll be the first dwarf doing this show and I just want to show how positive it is - being different is okay."

She said while it would be "tough" - admitting she would be living off coffee once training begins - it was a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity".

Simmonds was the youngest British athlete at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing at the age of 13 - and was named BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year the same year.

During the 2008 competition, she won gold medals in the 100m and 400m freestyle events. Simmonds won two golds at London 2012 and another at Rio 2016.

She went on to present for BBC Sport after retiring from competitive swimming in 2020 and has also made documentaries, including Ellie Simmonds: A World without Dwarfism?.

Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and head judge Shirley Ballas will all return to the Strictly judging panel this year.

They will be joined once again by Anton Du Beke, who has now permanently taken over from Bruno Tonioli.

More contestants will be announced in the coming days. The celebrities confirmed to take part so far include:

Actress and TV presenter Marsh currently hosts BBC One's Morning Live and has appeared in Coronation Street and The Syndicate.

"I'm nervous but I'm really looking forward to it," she told BBC Breakfast on Thursday.

In the early noughties, Marsh was a member of pop group Hear'Say, who were created on talent show Popstars.

"It's been a long time since I've been on stage, performing in that kind of way, so it's going to be really tricky, but I'm up for the challenge," she said about joining Strictly.

Asked how she would deal with criticism from the judges, she joked: "Listen, I was judged by Nasty Nigel in Popstars, he was the villain back in the day, so I think I'll be fine with it.

[tracym]

The four new award-winning dancers competing in Strictly Come Dancing 2022 are European cup winner Vito Coppola, Chinese National Champion Carlos Gu, former Under 21s British National Champion Lauren Oakley and Latin dance champion Michelle Tsiakkas