Strictly Come Dancing<\/a> \u2013 and, this year, a much-needed dose of it is being delivered by one contestant in particular: Ellie Goldstein. <\/p>\nOn Saturday night, Goldstein and her professional partner Vito Coppola performed their Couple\u2019s Choice. Aptly set to \u201cGolden\u201d by Kpop Demon Hunters\u2019 group Huntr\/x , the routine was an action-packed contemporary number, filled with energetic choreography and perfectly executed lifts, before confetti (gold, of course) rained down on the dancefloor. <\/p>\n
It cemented Goldstein\u2019s status as a total superstar who can bring a grin to even the sternest of faces (Exhibit A: Craig Revel Horwood). But that\u2019s not to say it wasn\u2019t emotional. <\/p>\n
One of the best things about the Couple\u2019s Choice routines is that viewers get to learn a little more about the celebrities performing them. Having discovered a love for performing at an early age, the Essex-born Goldstein began modelling as a teenager and has dabbled in acting too, making her television debut in a CBBC series earlier this year. Her achievements are incredible and made even more so given her start in life. <\/p>\n
Before she and Coppola took to the floor, a VT aired featuring Goldstein\u2019s mother, Yvonne, sharing her daughter\u2019s story. She explained: \u201cWithin a few hours of Ellie being born, we were told that she wouldn\u2019t walk or talk, which was all a huge shock. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe decided to bring Ellie up as Ellie, not with a title of having Down\u2019s syndrome. I think that\u2019s made a difference in her life.\u201d<\/p>\n
She continued: \u201cI\u2019d like people to see that having Down\u2019s syndrome, anything is possible [and] here\u2019s every chance for you to be successful.\u201d<\/p>\n
Goldstein is, without a doubt, showing the nation exactly that. The self-confessed Strictly superfan is the first person with Down\u2019s syndrome to appear on the show and she\u2019s made history before too, as the first person with the condition to feature on the cover of Vogue. <\/p>\n
But the thing that stands out more than anything, is the sheer joy she brings to the show. Which, quite frankly, is something we could all do with right now. <\/p>\n
In week one, Goldstein set the bar high for herself with an energetic cha cha to Ariana Grande\u2019s \u201cYes, And?\u201d. This was followed by a softer waltz to \u201cYour Song\u201d, but even with a more serious and emotional performance to tackle, it was clear she\u2019d had a ball with Coppola in rehearsals. <\/p>\n
For Movie Week, the pair upped their game yet again, with a salsa to \u201cDance the Night Away\u201d from Greta Gerwig\u2019s Barbie. And this week – while the VT no doubt left some viewers reaching for the tissues – the dance that followed was nothing short of a glorious show-stopper, with Goldstein energetically bounding onto the floor and closing the show with a celebration of everything she\u2019s achieved so far. <\/p>\n
On Saturday night, it was Coppola who summed Goldstein up best. \u201cWhen Ellie comes in the room, everything lights up,\u201d he said. \u201cAll of a sudden, looking at Ellie, the world becomes in colour. And I\u2019ve realised that I have always lived in black and white.\u201d Who could possibly put it better than that? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":235591,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[88,92],"class_list":{"0":"post-235590","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-tv"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235590","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=235590"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235590\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/235591"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=235590"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=235590"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=235590"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}