Lucy tackles the Big Issue

Paralympian loses out on Strictly

MOVING Lucy’s mag cover A DRAWING by a nineyear-old of a welcoming front door is the Big Issue magazine Christmas cover.

The picture of a mat saying Welcome Home, with the word “less” crossed out, was designed by Lucy Norris.

It was chosen as the winner from more than 1,000 entries for the annual festive competition.

Lucy, from Ware, Herts said: “Nobody should be homeless – especially not at Christmas.” AJ & Lauren on Saturday night’s show PARALYMPIAN Lauren Steadman proved she is all about “ability, not disability”, her Strictly Come Dancing partner said as she became the latest to leave the show.

Lauren, 25, crashed out of the semifinal after losing the dance-off to Pussycat Dolls star Ashley Roberts.

But dance partner AJ Pritchard, 24, insisted she was a true winner.

He said: “Lauren has been fantastic. At the beginning of the series I couldn’t have expected to make the semi-final.

“Honestly I’m so proud of you as a person. You’ve changed so many people’s opinions and it’s always been about ability, not disability. You’ve attacked everything, you’ve always been stubborn, you’ve always been, ‘I will be able to get this lift, even though it’s not going to work but we’ll get there somehow’.

“It’s been a fantastic journey and you’ve done yourself proud.”

Lauren and AJ performed their Tango to Nutbush City Limits by Tina Turner.

Darcey Bussell, who was one of the judges to save Ashley and her dance partner Pasha Kovalev, told Lauren: “It’s really hard because you’ve worked so hard and you’ve got so far to the semi-finals.”

Asked about her time on the show, Lauren said: “It’s so much more than I thought it would be. Down to the smallest things – outfits, hair, THROUGH Ashley makeup, AJ, the judges, the choreographers. I can’t tell you how magical it is.” Giving special praise to AJ, she said: “Sometimes you’re a bit hard on the outside but you’re so squishy and marshmallow-like on the inside. “I’ve got a lot of resilience and determination but I’ve never met somebody quite like you.” Last night’s show included a performance by Little Mix singing Woman Like Me. Ashley, Stacey Dooley, Faye Tozer and Joe Sugg are through to this weekend’s final.