Sprint champion Jonnie Peacock MBE, who won paralympic gold, wants viewers to see that having a disability is not a bar to putting on a good show – and joked that it could be his turn to waltz off with the glitterball this series.
Jonnie’s right leg was amputated below the knee after contracting meningitis as a five-year-old.
The blade runner, who won gold in the 100 metres at Rio and London’s Paralympics, said he had not thought twice about going on the BBC dance show.
The 24 year old from Cambridge said: “I want to break down peoples’ views on disability”, adding: “It’s about what some people think you can and can’t do.
“They can have preconceived notions about what you can and cannot do based on just looking at you and sometimes it’s not judging a book by its cover.
“There are certain moves I can do but whether or not it looks good is a different situation.”
The Team GB star, who is partnered by Oti Mabuse, added: “I have years to prepare for races but just two weeks for this. I don’t really know what I’m doing.
“We are going to go out there and have as much fun as we can but it’s definitely a lot more nerve-racking.”
But he was confident of showing some smooth moves, joking: “It’s definitely not the bottom half I need to worry about – it’s the top half!
“We’ve had so much fun over the last two weeks and I’m just looking forward to getting stuck in and not looking like a bumbling idiot.”
He joked about his prosthetic limb: “If we make it to week three, maybe I’ll glitter it up.”
Last night’s Strictly Come Dancing featured the slow waltz but Jonnie said he might move to a faster limb, such as a blade, if he makes it through to speedier dances such as the jive.
Daily Express :: TV and Radio Feed
