{"id":921,"date":"2026-03-08T16:30:17","date_gmt":"2026-03-08T16:30:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/?p=921"},"modified":"2026-03-08T16:30:17","modified_gmt":"2026-03-08T16:30:17","slug":"strictly-come-dancing-star-celebrated-by-duchess-of-edinburgh-after-history-making-achievement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/?p=921","title":{"rendered":"Strictly Come Dancing star celebrated by Duchess of Edinburgh after history-making achievement"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ellie Goldstein, who made history as the first contestant with Down’s syndrome to compete on Strictly Come Dancing, has performed at St James’s Palace for the Duchess of Edinburgh.<\/p>\n

The model and actress, alongside her professional dance partner Vito Coppola, took to the floor at the royal residence following a special afternoon tea hosted by Sophie.<\/p>\n

The duchess, who serves as patron of the learning disability charity Mencap, had previously sent a video message during last year’s Strictly final praising Ellie’s role in challenging perceptions.<\/p>\n

Sophie even acknowledged the difficulty of their palace performance, noting: “that is very difficult to do on carpet.”<\/p>\n

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During the palace visit, Ellie enjoyed cake with the duchess, who expressed her admiration for the dancer’s television courage.<\/p>\n

Sophie told her: “braver then a lion to do that show, I really do. I loved it.”<\/p>\n

The pair discussed the enduring influence of Ellie’s Strictly journey, with the duchess asking numerous questions about her experience on the programme.<\/p>\n

Ellie, who attended the event with her mother Yvonne, described the occasion as “amazing” and spoke of how meaningful it was to receive recognition from royalty.<\/p>\n

Yvonne Goldstein reflected on the encounter, calling the experience of visiting St James’s Palace and meeting Sophie “surreal.”<\/p>\n

Ellie expressed her gratitude for the royal acknowledgement, stating: “It means so much to be recognised by a member of the royal family.”<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

She added: “I’m proud to show that people with a learning disability can achieve their dreams and to never give up what they want to do.”<\/p>\n

The Strictly star, who serves as a Mencap Myth Buster ambassador, has clearly made a lasting impression on her dance partner.<\/p>\n

Coppola described their collaboration as “an incredible experience” and said he had gained “a little sister for life.”<\/p>\n

He reflected on the unique approach required, explaining: “Everyone learns differently and dancing with someone who has a learning disability means thinking outside the box and understanding how to communicate and teach in the best way that works for them.”<\/p>\n

Jon Sparkes, chief executive of Mencap which marks its 80th anniversary this year, attended the palace gathering and spoke of Ellie’s broader significance.<\/p>\n

He said: “It recognises not only Ellie’s talent and determination, but the way she has challenged assumptions and opened hearts and minds across the country.”<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Mr Sparkes emphasised that Ellie’s influence is “helping to drive lasting change in attitudes and expectations.”<\/p>\n

He noted that many people have expressed how vital it is to see themselves represented on television.<\/p>\n

Yvonne Goldstein shared her hopes for the wider impact, saying: “If one family say them and told their children, ‘this is what you can achieve in life’ then it’s all worth it.”<\/p>\n

Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ellie Goldstein, who made history as the first contestant with Down’s syndrome to compete on Strictly Come Dancing, has performed at St James’s Palace for the Duchess of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":922,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-921","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/921","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=921"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/921\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/922"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}