Strictly's Ellie Simmonds mum reveals heartbreaking reason she gave star up for adoption

Edinburgh Live

23-05-2025

Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info
Strictly Come Dancing star Ellie Simmonds' birth mum heartbreakingly reveals the reason for giving her up in a starkly honest phone conversation, admitting: "All I could see is your disability".
In a profound moment set to be aired on an ITV documentary this Tuesday, the ex-Paralympic swim star finds the bravery to contact her biological mother, which leads to a poignant exchange.
Ellie, now 30, was relinquished for adoption by her birth mother merely ten days after birth upon discovering that Ellie had achondroplasia, a genetic type of dwarfism.
Ellie recounts how her birth mum was brusquely given a leaflet by a medical professional, detailing misconceptions that children with her condition were often thought to possess lower intelligence and typically ended up working at circuses.
Their paths crossed again merely two years ago while Ellie was filming the documentary Finding My Secret Family; however, it took time for Ellie to feel prepared to discuss her adoption with her mother.
As she embarks on a new intimate documentary journey, Ellie Simmonds: Should I Have Children?, she delves into societal perceptions of raising children with disabilities and ponders over her own decision to have children.
In a significant step, Ellie finds the strength to make the call, expressing: "I want to know what it was like for her to decide to put me up for adoption. For her it was 30-years-ago, but it's quite a sensitive, super emotional situation", reports the Mirror.
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Her birth mother, whose identity is concealed, told her: "It's really quite traumatic. It's hard for you to hear. I don't want to in any way upset you. You're making a decision at the wrong time of your life, because you've just given birth, your hormones are all over the place. You're physically not right, you're mentally not right.
"There was a lot in the background going on. I kept the pregnancy a secret, I gave birth on my own. I went to a geneticist and she was very abrupt. She said, 'There you go, that's what your baby is going to look like'. I remember thinking I can't cope with this. Maybe I wanted a magic wand.
"All I could see was your disability. You can make excuses, but I really did struggle. I grieved the child that I thought you should have been. It was the biggest decision of my life. To give your biological child away... it was momentous. I just handed you over and that's something you really can never get over. The guilt is horrendous. You live with it all the time."
She added: "I didn't ever forget you. I thought about you every day. When I saw you at the Beijing Paralympics, I thought 'That's my Ellie'. I've been a number one fan. I've watched everything you've done, I'm extremely proud. It's an amazing thing to have a child, there's no love like it. Forward 30 years and I realise what a fabulous woman you are. It's just that you were a bit shorter. You're a completely perfect person in every way."
(Image: ITV GRAB)
Visibly overwhelmed, Ellie remains mostly quiet and tearful as she takes in her birth mother's words. Eventually, Ellie responds with: "We don't want to blame anyone, decisions are decisions. You're amazing", eliciting the reply: "I don't know Ellie, I think sometimes it was quite cowardly to be honest."
Reflecting on the conversation later, Ellie muses: "It seems that she held that guilt for a long time. That's really sad. We put a lot of pressure on the mum in society. It's amazing that she's so honest and open. I think people's fear of a disability is actually a fear of what's inside of them."
In the documentary, Ellie engages with doctors, geneticists, and frontline counsellors, and also converses with parents who have grappled with difficult choices upon learning their unborn child has a disability, pondering what her own decision would be. Ellie contemplates: "Being a 30-year-old woman, this is the time people think about starting a family. It's different because I'm living with a disability so I know what it's like to be a disabled person.
"If you find out you've got a disabled baby, do people think they can't actually cope with it?"Are they nervous? Do they want a picture perfect baby?"
Ellie Simmonds: Should I Have Children? is scheduled for Tuesday 27 May on ITV1 at 9pm.