Strictly’s silver star
Paralympic medallist, 25, becomes 13th celebrity to sign up for BBC dance show
PARALYMPIAN Lauren Steadman has been revealed as the 13th celebrity to sign up for this year’s Strictly Come Dancing.
Miss Steadman, 25, who was born without her lower right arm, has competed in swimming and in the paratriathlon, winning a silver medal at Rio two years ago.
She said she was ‘excited to swap my triathlon kit for dancing shoes and sequins’ when she competes in the BBC1 show this autumn.
‘I still don’t think it has properly sunk in that I’m actually going to be part of this year’s Strictly,’ she said. ‘I have loved the show since I was young, and it’s a huge thing to tick off my bucket list.
‘I’m more nervous about being on stage, performing live and in front of the judges than I am about the Elite Paratriathlon Grand Final next month.’
Miss Steadman, who uses a prosthetic arm to compete, started swimming at the age of four and represented Team GB aged 15 at the Beijing Paralympics. Following the London 2012 Games, she switched to triathlon.
Although she does not have any formal dance training, Miss Steadman has said previously that she has tried salsa dancing as a way to kickstart her training when she needs something completely different.
Writing for the Huffington Post, she said: ‘Having one arm comes with preconceived judgments and for me physical activity became an avenue for me to prove to myself and those around me. Yes, I’m missing an arm but I am just as capable as you are, and the thought of failing at any task eats away at me inside.’ Miss Steadman comes from Peterborough and is now based in Portsmouth, where she gained a first-class degree in psychology from the city’s university.
Her appearance on Strictly comes after Jonnie Peacock became the first Paralympian on the show last year.
Former Blue singer Lee Ryan, 35, was also confirmed as one of this year’s contestants, while fashion guru Susannah Constantine – half of Trinny and Susannah – is thought to be appearing.
A source said: ‘Susannah is the perfect signing for Strictly. She’s well known and popular with viewers, but she’s not an experienced dancer so she has plenty to learn. People can relate to her. She’s certainly one of the names the production team were excited to get on board. Hopefully she goes down well with viewers too.’
Miss Constantine, 56, a mother of three, was co-host with Trinny Woodall of What Not to Wear.
She has previously spoken about struggles with her weight but in March revealed she had lost a stone and a half and dropped from a size 16 to a size 10. In 2015 she appeared on I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here!