Strictly’s back
Thrills, spills and first night nerves
PARALYMPIC champion Jonnie Peacock sprinted to victory in London and Rio on his blade.
But the two-times gold medallist now hopes the prosthesis will help to put a spring in his quickstep – and maybe his jive – as he takes the floor in this year’s Strictly Come Dancing.
“I think perhaps there might be a couple of dances where I might need a blade – like the jive maybe, anything that requires constant bounce,” he said.
“But when it’s controlled, slow and not so much jumping around it will probably be my standard leg.”
The 24-year-old became a household name after smashing the Paralympic 100m record to take gold at the London 2012 games.
Peacock, who is paired with the professional dancer Oti Mabuse, had his right leg amputated after he contracted meningitis at the age of five.
“I had the medical and the doctor goes, ‘ Oh, are you going to be OK with the lifts?’, and I was just like, ‘Well, I’m OK in the gym with 200 kilos on my back so I’ll probably be OK with the lifts!’ Some people have preconceived notions of what people can and cannot do based on looking at them, but I think sometimes it’s just a case of not judging a book by its cover.”
Peacock said taking part in the glitzy ballroom contest was far more nerveracking than running in front of 80,000 people. “Dancing is definitely not my forte, but I’ve had so much fun over the last couple of weeks I’m just looking forward to getting myself stuck in and I hope I don’t look too much like a bumbling idiot,” he said. However, the athlete hopes his training will give him an advantage over the competition – which includes the singer Aston Merrygold, actress Gemma Atkinson and breakfast TV presenter Charlotte Hawkins. Other contestants spoke of their nerves before last night’s first live show, following two weeks of intensive training. Comedian Susan Calman posted on Twitter at 6.30am: “Up early. Can’t sleep. No idea why. It’s not like I’m doing anything important today.”
All the contestants will return next week, when last night’s scores will carry over to next Saturday’s public vote.