Strictly's Ellie Simmonds told 'all I could see was your disability' in heartbreaking call

Wales Online

23-05-2025

Strictly's Ellie Simmonds told 'all I could see was your disability' in heartbreaking call
In a new ITV documentary, Ellie Simmonds: Should I Have Children?, the former Paralympian swimming champion has a tear-jerking phone call with her birth mum
Ellie has a new ITV documentary out next week
(Image: undefined via Getty Images )
Strictly Come Dancing star Ellie Simmonds' biological mother has candidly revealed the heart-wrenching reason for giving her up, confessing in a raw telephone conversation: "All I could see is your disability".
In a poignant segment set to be broadcast in an ITV documentary on Tuesday, the ex-Paralympic swimming star bravely contacts her birth mum, leading to a profoundly moving exchange.
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At just ten days old, Ellie, now 30, was relinquished for adoption by her birth mother upon learning of Ellie's achondroplasia, a genetic condition causing dwarfism.
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Ellie recounts how her birth mum was bluntly presented with a fact sheet by a medical professional, suggesting that children like her were often thought to have lower intelligence and typically ended up working in circuses.
The pair re-established contact two years prior while Ellie was working on the documentary Finding My Secret Family, yet it took until now for Ellie to feel prepared to discuss her adoption with her mother.
In her latest intimate documentary, Ellie Simmonds: Should I Have Children?, she delves into societal attitudes towards parenting children with disabilities and contemplates her own potential motherhood, reports the Mirror.
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Gathering the strength to place the call, Ellie expresses: "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."
Ellie is an award-winning ex-Paralympic swimmer
(Image: AFP via Getty Images )
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Her birth mother, choosing to remain nameless on screen, shared her emotions: "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."
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Discussing the difficult circumstances she faced in the past, she said: "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."
She went on to describe the immense struggles she endured: "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."
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Acknowledging her constant thoughts about her child, 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. Fast 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."
Ellie listens, visibly distraught and mostly silent, as her birth mother speaks to her. Eventually, she finds the words to reassure her: "We don't want to blame anyone, decisions are decisions. You're amazing".
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Ellie was left upset by the conversation she had with her biological mother
(Image: ITV GRAB )
However, her birth mother candidly responds: "I don't know Ellie, I think sometimes it was quite cowardly to be honest."
Reflecting on their conversation, Ellie remarks: "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."
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In the documentary, Ellie engages with medical professionals, geneticists, and counsellors, and also speaks with parents who have faced challenging decisions after discovering their unborn child has a disability. She poses the question, what would she do in such a situation?
Ellie ponders: "Being a 30-year-old woman, this is the time people think about starting a family. But my situation is different because I live with a disability, so I understand what it's like to be a disabled person.
"When people find out they're having a disabled baby, do they worry that they won't be able to cope? Are they nervous? Do they want a picture-perfect baby?"
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In the course of her journey, Ellie uncovers a harrowing fact related to her own potential future pregnancies: should she conceive with a partner who also has dwarfism, their child would have a one in four chance of inheriting a lethal 'double dose' of the condition.
Ellie takes this revelation to heart, stating: "No parent should have to go through that. While I'm not at the stage of wanting a baby just yet, it's something I will have to consider."
*Ellie Simmonds: Should I Have Children? is on Tuesday 27 May on ITV1 at 9pm.