The Paralympic swimmer, 27, who has a type of dwarfism called achondroplasia and is 4ft tall, is the first with the genetic condition to appear on the show. Ellie will join already announced stars Kym Marsh, Will Mellor, Richie Anderson and Jayde Adams in series 20 later this year. Line-up: Ellie Simmonds announced as sixth celebrity contestant to take part in this year’s Strictly Come Dancing Speaking after the announcement on BBC 5 Live Sunday Breakfast, the athlete said: “Oh my God!! I am literally bursting with excitement!! “It was so hard to keep this secret as much as I wanted to tell everyone. I’m going on Strictly Come Dancing!! I’m also a bit nervous, much more so than a child… I’m absolutely petrified! “Being asked to join the Strictly family is so exciting and I can’t wait, it’s going to be a lot of fun. I’m counting down the minutes until it starts. learning to dance, meeting my partner and everyone else in the show. “Plus, wearing the sequins and all, it’s going to be incredible. I’ve been watching Strictly for as long as I can remember. It’s a traditional run up to Christmas with my family and it’s a real privilege to be a part of it.” New venture: The Paralympic swimmer, 27, will join already announced stars Kym Marsh, Will Mellor, Richie Anderson and Jayde Adams in Series 20 later this year (pictured at the London 2012 Paralympics) Ellie is best known as a gold medal winning Paralympic swimmer. At the age of thirteen she was the youngest British athlete at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, winning gold medals in the 100m and 400m freestyle. In 2012 he won gold in the 400m freestyle and 200m individual medley at the London Summer Paralympics and won another gold in the 200m individual medley at Rio 2016. In addition, he has also won ten world championship gold titles. At the age of 13 he won the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year and a year later, at just 14, he became the youngest person ever to receive an MBE. Ellie said: “I’m going on Strictly Come Dancing!! I’m also a bit nervous, much more so than a child… I’m absolutely petrified!”. (pictured with Kelly Holmes in August 2022) Raised to the OBE in the 2013 New Year Honors for services to Paralympic sport. After retiring from competitive swimming in 2020, Ellie has continued to present for BBC Sport, most recently for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, as well as making documentaries such as Ellie Simmonds: A World Without Dwarfism? for BBC One and BBC iPlayer. He is to explore disability and adoption in a recently announced ITV film. Success: Ellie is best known as a gold medal winning Paralympic swimmer. At the age of thirteen she was the youngest British athlete at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, winning gold medals in the 100m and 400m freestyle. It comes after Jayde Adams was announced as the fifth contestant to sign up for Strictly Come Dancing 2022. The 37-year-old comedian and actress said keeping the secret was like “torture” but that she was a “huge fan” of the show, joking that appearing on the beloved show was her main career goal. He said: “Since watching the first series in 2004, I feel like every step I’ve taken in my career over the last 11 years has been about being on Strictly. “I can’t begin to express the emotions I feel, this means so much to me and my family. I’ve always watched it, apart from a brief hiatus in 2011 as I played non-stop every weekend (to try and get on Strictly). “I’ve been a huge fan of the show for years. I feel like I’m seeing myself in a dream and I can’t believe I’ve manifested this. He added: “Holding it was torture for me!” Big fan: Jayde Adams announced as fifth contestant to join Strictly Come Dancing 2022 Best known as a comedian, Jayde has won numerous comedy awards and was nominated for the coveted Best Newcomer with her first hour of stand-up at the Edinburgh Fringe. The news was revealed on Saturday morning on BBC Radio 5 Live by Scott Mills and Chris Stark. Kaye Adams has been revealed as the fourth contestant in the series, making the exciting announcement live on Friday’s Loose Women on ITV. Kaye surprised her co-stars Denise Welch, Carol McGiffin and Sunetra Sarker – as well as Nadia Sawalha who appeared via video link – with the news towards the end of the show, with the studio welcoming a host of dancers. It’s official! Kaye Adams announced as fourth contestant to sign up for Strictly Come Dancing 2022 While the in-studio participants were delighted with the announcement, Nadia was visibly shocked and moved, telling her friend: ‘Is that really you?! Oh my God. I could cry!’ “It’s amazing that you can do it because let’s face it, you can’t dance, but that’s what we love to see on Strictly – someone learning to dance. You are going to be incredible, you are so funny, you have the best legs in the business. I can’t wait to come home and cha cha cha cha with you!”. Revealing how she felt about taking part, Kaye admitted: ‘It’s me! I’m absolutely terrified because I can’t dance. I could think of a million reasons not to do that.” The reporter continued: “When these wonderful dancers came on, I almost fell out of both ends of my body, to be honest. Sorry for that! Surprise! The Scottish TV star, 59, made the exciting announcement live on Friday’s Loose Women on ITV after keeping it a secret from her co-stars. “But I thought, ‘I’ll be thinking at the end of September I wish I had done this.’ I’m 59, 60 at the end of this year and I said, “Well, why not?” “I’m a very competitive person and Nadia, you know it’s true, but that’s not what I’m into. If I have fun, I will be so happy.’ She added that her daughters weren’t too confused by the news as they simply told her: “Okay mom.” Kaye follows in the footsteps of fellow Loose Women stars Judi Love, Ruth Langsford and Christine Lampard who have taken part in Strictly. The secret is out! Kaye surprised her colleagues Denise Welch, Carol McGiffin and Sunetra Sarker – as well as Nadia Sawalha who appeared via video link – with the news, with the studio welcoming a host of dancers Meanwhile, BBC Radio 2 DJ Richie Anderson, 34, revealed he will be joining the 2022 series during his radio show on Friday and will join Coronation Street stars Will Mellor and Kym Marsh in the current line-up . The former Sunday League footballer – who went viral in 2018 when he came out as gay to his Coombs Wood FC team-mates in an emotional documentary – said he is “hugely honoured” to be part of the show’s all-male cast. In a statement he said: “This is a dream come true! I can’t wait to get into those sparkles, sequins and sparkles on the world’s most famous dance floor! It’s strictly the ultimate show good feeling, just hearing that iconic theme tune is just pure escapism. “I’ll have to cancel my legendary ‘Strictly’ kitchen party that I host every year, I’m sure my friends and family will understand.” He added: “It’s also a huge honor to be part of an all-male dance collaboration, it’s so important that we have this inclusion in such a huge show.” Chuffed: Former Sunday League footballer says ‘huge honour’ to be part of all-male show partnership Last year’s series saw Great British Bake Off star John Waite form the show’s first all-male partnership with professional Johannes Radebe – with the pair reaching the final. Last year saw the show’s first same-sex pairing as boxer Nicola Adams was paired with Katya Jones – however the duo had to pull out of the competition in week three after Katya contracted Covid. In 2018, Richie famously came out as gay to his Sunday Football League teammates during a segment on The One Show that explored homophobia in the sport. The team knew Ritchie was filming a piece for BBC One’s daily programme, but it wasn’t until he sat them down in the dressing room after the game that they discovered he was exploring the issues surrounding being gay in grassroots football. Outspoken: In 2018, Richie famously came out as gay to his Sunday League team-mates during a feature for The One Show which explored homophobia in the sport Talented: Last year’s series saw Great British Bake Off star John Waite form the show’s first all-male partnership with professional Johannes Radebe – with the pair reaching the final On Thursday, the first two stars for Strictly were announced, with actor Will and soap favorite Kym joining the line-up. The Coronation Street actress and Two Pints ​​Of Lager and A Packet Of Crisps star, both 46, revealed on Thursday’s BBC Breakfast, with Kym revealing she had wanted to be on the show for “a number of years ». She said: “I’ve been thinking about doing Strictly for years but the timings never worked out. I’m so glad they have it this year! “I’m a huge fan of the show and I can’t believe I’m going from watching at home in my pajamas to dancing in front of the judges in a sparkly dress, it’s unreal!” Finally! The first two stars for Strictly Come Dancing were announced on Thursday, with actor Will Mellor (right) and soap favorite Kym Marsh (left) joining the line-up. Speaking on Breakfast, Kym admitted she hadn’t told Morning Live co-host Gethin Jones she was joining the show, despite having previously joined in 2007. He said: “I joked with him and said ‘you’ve been strict because you’ve never mentioned it!’ I think he always asked me if I would do it and kept doing it. again in the next few months, and of course I haven’t spoken to him and will probably get a text later saying “you never told me!” Speaking via Zoom, Kym revealed that her parents were both…