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Ellie said: “I will be so, so nervous, and I will try not to think of all the people watching.“ I know all my family and friends will support me and help me stay grounded.

“I am the first dwarf doing the show, I will show how positive that is, that to be different is OK.”

Ellie, who at the age of 13 was the youngest British athlete at the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing, has kept the news secret for months.

She said: “I wanted to tell so many people, it has been so hard.

“I told my other half Matt, and my parents – but I only told my sister, who’s a huge Strictly fan, this morning.”

On her chances, she said: “I have good hand-eye coordination in the water, but it’s different on land.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It will be great to swap the goggles and the hat for the sequences and the make-up.”

Ellie, who is 4tf tall, was born with achondroplasia, a type of dwarfism.

She retired with a host of honours after last year’s Covid-delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

She has hosted for BBC Sport, right, at the Commonwealth Games, as well as fronting BBC documentary Ellie Simmonds: A World Without Dwarfism?

But the five-time Paralympic champion still feels “petrified” about taking to the dance floor.

The 27-year-old tweeted: “I’m a tad nervous, well more than a tad… I’m absolutely petrified!

“To be asked to be part of the Strictly family is just so exciting and I cannot wait, it’s going to be so much fun.

“I’m counting down the minutes until it starts – learning to dance, meeting my partner and everyone else involved in the show.”

“Plus wearing the sequins and all that, it’s going to be a blast.”

“I’ve been watching Strictly from as far back as I can remember, it’s a traditional lead-up to Christmas with my family and it’s a genuine privilege to be part of it.”

Ellie joins the five other celebrities already announced to be taking part this year – comic and actress Jayde Adams, Coronation Street stars Will Mellor and Kym Marsh, Loose Women star Kaye Adams and Radio 2 travel reporter Richie Anderson.

The launch of the 20th series is to be recorded on September 7.

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