Blade dancer
Paralympic hero Jonnie becomes Strictly’s first disabled contestant
HE has already triumphed on the running track, leaving fellow sprinters trailing in his wake.
Now Paralympic Gold medallist Jonnie Peacock is turning his attention to a new challenge – the Strictly Come Dancing dancefloor.
The two-time world champion, 24, will be the first disabled person to take part in the BBC show. He confirmed he will be joining this year’s series yesterday after Sportsmail revealed last month that he was in talks with the BBC.
The British ‘blade runner’, who had his right leg amputated below the knee when he was five after contracting meningitis, said he hopes to change perceptions of disability.
‘The opportunity to be the first contestant with a disability to take part in Strictly’s main show was too good to turn down,’ he said. ‘I’ve got no previous dance history outside of the occasional “worm” at a mate’s party and I know this will be a challenge and a new experience.
‘I can’t wait to see what I can achieve and how far I can push myself.’
Peacock won gold in the 100m at the 2012 Paralympics, and again at Rio in 2016. He also won gold at the World Championships in 2013 and in London last month.
Cheering him on during the Saturday night live shows is likely to be his girlfriend of five years, Sally Brown, who is also a Paralympic runner.
While most of the 15 celebrity contestants will share his lack of dancing expertise, Peacock faces the additional challenge of learning to dance with a blade.
It is understood the Cambridgeshire-born athlete – who also won the 100m at the Birmingham Athletics Grand Prix last weekend – wants to be treated the same as his rivals and has made no special requirements regarding his coaching.
But those closest to Peacock will be all too aware of the risks of taking part in the contest, with the intense dance training putting extra pressure on his stump. Earlier this year German Paralympic runner Heinrich Popow took part in Germany’s version of Strictly, Let’s Dance – but had to bow out of the contest due to a swelling on his stump.
And 11-time Paralympic goldmedallist Baroness Tanni Grey- Thompson spoke out during last month’s World Championships about the difficulties amputees face in avoiding injury.
‘For amputee sprinters, it’s very difficult,’ she told the BBC. ‘If you have any bruising or the slightest mark on your stump you can’t train.
‘It changes everything you do. As an amputee, you have bone and soft tissue without the joints and bits protecting it. Longterm, that’s tough on the body. That area of skin can be really hard to heal – you could be out for six months or a year.’
The BBC also announced yesterday that Paul Daniels’ widow Debbie McGee, former The X Factor winner Alexandra Burke and Holby City actress Chizzy Akudolu will be competing.
They join This Morning host Ruth Langsford, Good Morning Britain’s Charlotte Hawkins, vicar Reverend Richard Coles, The Saturdays singer Mollie King, comedian Brian Conley, Holby City actor Joe McFadden, Sunday Brunch host Simon Rimmer, JLS singer Aston Merrygold, actress Gemma Atkinson, EastEnders star Davood Ghadami and comedienne Susan Calman.
‘Can’t wait to see what I can achieve’