Strictly’s Jonnie: The Paralympics were a waltz in the park next to this!
They’re off... so that’s your weekends sorted until Christmas
JONNIE Peacock made Strictly Come Dancing history last night when he became the first disabled celebrity to take part in the hugely popular competition. And he admitted that dancing was considerably more challenging than taking part in the Paralympics.
Peacock, 24, who won 100 metre golds for Britain at both the London and the Rio Games, said: ‘When you are running in the Olympics, you have three or four years to prepare. I have had just two weeks to prepare for this.’
The athlete, whose lower right leg was amputated after he had contracted meningitis aged five, performed a waltz to When I Need You by Luther Vandross, along with his partner, Oti Mabuse.
Peacock revealed that he might yet have to swap his ‘standard’ prosthetic leg for blades later in the series, which runs until December 16.
He said: ‘There might be a couple of faster-pace dances where I might need a blade – the jive, the quickstep, anything that requires constant bounce.’
Meanwhile, the Reverend Richard Coles, 56, became the first vicar on the show. He also admitted to nerves before he took to the dance floor, dressed entirely in white, to dance the cha-cha with partner Dianne Buswell to the very apt Eurythmics track There Must Be An Angel.
Other highlights included Saturdays star Mollie King, 30, and her partner AJ Pritchard jiving to Good Golly Miss Molly by Little Richard.