Strictly star James Jordan has praised 2025 contestant Ellie Goldstein after admitting he initially had concerns about her appearing on the BBC dance show during an exclusive interview with Entertainment Daily.
The former pro dancer, 47, who competed on the show between 2006 and 2013, also told ED! that he cannot see Karen Carney reaching this year’s final.
However, he admitted he can envision Ellie and her dance partner, Vito Coppola, going really far…
James Jordan shares concerns for Strictly star Ellie Goldstein
Speaking on behalf of Freebets, James told ED!: “Vito and Ellie, they are my daughter’s favourite. My daughter [Ella] is five. She absolutely loves watching them.”
Model Ellie, who made Strictly history by being the first contestant with Down syndrome to compete in a full series, has been impressing the judges and viewers week by week and has so far avoided the dreaded bottom two.
However, James admitted he had initial concerns for the Vogue cover girl at the start of the competition.
“I was a bit worried at the beginning thinking, ‘Oh, is it gonna be too much for her mentally?’ Because I’ve done the show myself for eight years, and I know it can be tough. It’s quite grueling and emotionally draining as well,” he explained.
“But I think Vito’s doing such a fantastic job, I love their partnership. And if they got to the final, I would not be surprised because I think they’re gonna have a lot of support,” James added.
‘It’s not a proper dance competition’
The former Celebrity Big Brother star also defended Ellie and Vito from criticism from the public.
“For me, as a professional dancer, I don’t want to just watch good dancing. I want to watch someone who moves me. I know there are a lot of people online who go: ‘Oh, they shouldn’t be getting further in the competition because this one’s better and that one’s better.’ Yeah, maybe technically they are, but when I watch them, I really love watching them,” he said.
“It’s not a proper dance competition,” James continued before taking a swipe at the judges: “Otherwise, you’d have proper judges on the show, wouldn’t you?”
Turning back to Ellie and Vito, he added: “The only thing I worry about is that they’ve done a lot of fun dances so far. When it gets to the more serious ones, is she gonna be able to sell that as well? I don’t know. I hope so because I love them.”
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