At the age of just 13, Ellie Simmonds won two Gold medals in freestyle swimming at the 2008 Paralympics. She continued to establish herself as a world-leading swimmer in the 2012 and 2016 Paralympics competitions, collecting a further seven Gold, Silver and Bronze medals.
After retiring from competitive swimming, she worked on the award-nominated documentary A World Without Dwarfism, an exploratory look at a new drug being trialled to improve the height of children with dwarfism, which aired on BBC One earlier this year. More recently, you might’ve seen her sashay her way across the ballroom in Strictly Come Dancing.
Here, she talks to Cathy Reay, a journalist who also has dwarfism, about her experiences as a young disabled woman in the limelight, representation, and what we can expect from her in the future.
GLAMOUR: Ellie, thank you for speaking to us, especially while you’re on holiday! Tell us where you are and what you’re up to.
Ellie Simmonds: I’m in the US, in Colorado. I wasn’t supposed to be here, but I wanted to get away and have a bit of a break. It was all a bit last minute. Being on Strictly was intense; it was our lives – for over two months, I was living and breathing that experience.
Suddenly, when it ends, it’s over, and that’s a lot to take. For me, it’s like going through a breakup! Something I’ve been loving doing, loving every second of, suddenly gone. Then I see all [the Strictly competitors] enjoying themselves in Blackpool, and that’s hard. As a kid, I loved the National Treasure films with Nicolas Cage, and I’ve always wanted to go to Washington, so I thought to myself, let’s live life on the edge and go! My friend in Colorado was free, so I decided to join her after and here I am – in the mountains, at altitude, in Colorado.
You’re no stranger to competing in front of large audiences. But how did you feel about performing in a new way [dancing]? Do you think competitive swimming prepared you well, or did you find the experience/pressures totally different?
I don’t think you can ever prepare yourself for standing on the dancefloor, knowing millions of people are watching while the judges are right there. I think coping with the nerves of swimming in the 2012 Paralympics helped me, but still, I felt more nervous than I’ve ever been every Saturday night [on Strictly].
Dancing isn’t just about the moves, the steps, or your arm and feet positions. It’s also about our faces. Nikita [Ellie’s average-height dancing partner] was incredible at telling me how I needed to act and what I needed to portray in the dance. But it’s different to swimming because I was the only person like me in Strictly.
The Strictly experience has given me a confidence boost because if I can dance in front of nine million people, I can do anything.
As a plus-size woman, I cried watching Jayde Adams dance around the stage without being covered up by a wrap dress.
Earlier this year, you hosted a documentary about a drug that seeks to make children with dwarfism taller; how was that experience for you? Do you want to do more work linked to our community, or would you prefer to do different things?
The documentary went down really well, it has educated not just the dwarfism community in the UK but worldwide on what it’s like for different people living with dwarfism and the drugs that are available to us or that will be. The BBC, and some other TV channels, are doing more and more documentaries educating viewers about the science behind disabilities. I went on a learning journey working on that programme. I only know what it’s like for me living with dwarfism, as someone who was recognised [by the public] from such a young age, whereas what’s it like for those living in the US? For people who are taking these drugs?
“While I’m really proud to represent the dwarfism community and the disabled community, I don’t just want to be seen as Ellie Simmonds: the dwarf.”
Going forward, I’d love to work on more documentaries. While I’m really proud to represent the dwarfism community and the disabled community, I don’t just want to be seen as Ellie Simmonds: the dwarf. If we want to continue going forward with representation, there are people out there with all different disabilities doing exactly the same things as everyone else and not just mixing with their own community. I don’t want to be a tick-box representing dwarfism. I want to do other things, too – and to be seen for doing other things too.
Speaking of representation, many people really admire your work ethic and the joy you always seem to exude; it’s contagious. I’m curious whether you feel any pressure to be a shining example for the dwarfism community. How does that impact you, and how do you manage trauma in your life alongside having a public profile?
I felt pressure a lot in Strictly, representing the disability and the dwarfism community. I am a happy person, but I also have my own insecurities and mood swings. I take every opportunity with joy, but there are times when I want to stay in bed all day! I had to take on a lot of negativity going onto that show. When you get people saying, ‘I don’t like her personality, she annoys me a lot’, it’s tough. I knew I was going to be thrown into the limelight, but I didn’t expect people to criticise my personality. Nikita was amazing, I spoke to him a lot, and we each had a psychologist whilst on the show.
One week, not my last dance but the one before, I had a really tough experience with an interview, and it made me crumble. I tried to go out and dance and be strong, but when you get all those messages, especially, there was one from another woman with dwarfism who said, ‘I’m not voting for you, but you’re making my life worse, you’re making my insecurities heightened’. When you’re dealing with that behind closed doors, it can be a lot. I’m an emotional wreck sometimes.
I really noticed how your social media audience blew up throughout your time on Strictly, especially with so many non-disabled people really engaging with you in a big way, many for the first time. As you mentioned, there can be a lot of baggage and darkness that comes with that. How do you manage the trolling/negativity you get?
I got so much support and so many lovely messages, but you always focus on the negative, right? I don’t know why and it’s a shame. I try not to read those messages, but it’s hard not to. I would have a cry, but then I would flip it and be like, ‘Well, come on, let’s show them, try to put it aside and ignore all the people that think, why is she dancing?’. Maybe that’s my competitive side.
I have a great support system around me. I’ve got friends who love me for who I am and people who love me for who I am. Social media is a totally different world, and these people wouldn’t say these things to my face. [Trolling/negative feedback] makes me more motivated to do more, to educate and raise awareness. There are always going to be a few people that will never change, but we can do more to educate society and especially children that, yes, we’re small; it’s just our height. But we’re also like you.
What are your plans when you’re back from the US? And for next year?
I’ve got sponsorship work with Speedo and Vitality, which was put on hold while I was doing Strictly. This involves doing talks and representing as a swimmer. I also have another documentary coming out about disability and adoption. It looks at the care system in the UK. There is a massive proportion of children in care that are disabled, and historically, they can be hard to find families for. In the documentary, I interview social workers and families that put their kids up for adoption.
What are your hopes and dreams career-wise?
I’d love to do more TV work and more documentaries and to be on the radio. Interviewing people for documentaries, you learn a lot. I love being around people. I love radio, love music and would love a radio slot on Radio 1! I want to be like Louis Theroux and Stacey Dooley.
What are your hopes and dreams in your personal life?
I want to travel more again. I travelled in 2017 [a documentary, Ellie Simmonds: Swimming with Dolphins followed one of her travelling adventures], but with Covid-19, I haven’t felt confident travelling alone. I want to do more crazy things; I did a skydive last week! I’ve got the bug now. I want to see the world. Swim with humpback whales, find myself again, and find what I love doing. I’d love to get a dog as well.
After retiring [from swimming] last year, I lost a massive piece of my identity and who I was, and I feel like I’m trying to find who I am again. I’m trying to fix those holes that are gone. With everything that’s happened this past year, I’ve closed that door with swimming, and now it’s like I have to find myself again.
It has taken me years to accept and love my Disabled body, and now the world wants to take it away.
