Ell of a swimmer
Who is Crufts presenter and former Paralympian swimmer Ellie Simmonds?
Plus a look at Ellie's incredible Paralympics record
FIVE-TIME Paralympic gold medalist Ellie Simmonds made her debut as a host during Channel 4's coverage of Paralympic games in Paris.
The British swimmer is back on our screens alongside a host of famous faces presenting coverage of Crufts 2025.
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Who is Ellie Simmonds?
Ellie Simmonds was born on November 11, 1994, in .
She has achondroplasia, a common cause of dwarfism, and has been interested in swimming since the age of five.
At the age of 11 she moved to Swansea to use the city's top swimming pool.
Ellie is best known as a gold medal-winning Paralympic swimmer and broadcaster.
She was given an MBE in the 2009 New Year Honours, and was the youngest person to ever be handed this accolade at just 14.
In the 2013 New Year Honours, Ellie received an OBE for her services to Paralympic sport.
In 2021, she announced her Paralympic retirement after missing out on a medal in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.
Outside of her sporting career Ellie studied Psychology at Loughborough University in England.
She is also very involved with charity work, with much of her focus being on sports, young people and water.
And her work with young people doesn't stop there - Ellie is an ambassador for The Scout Association, and a Girlguide leader in Manchester, where her pack name is Aqua Owl.
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Soon after she retired from swimming, Ellie was announced as one of the contestants for the 2022 series of Strictly Come Dancing.
She was partnered with professional dancer Nikita Kuzmin.
The pair hit it off straight away and had great chemistry together, managing to make it as far as week 7 of the show before losing out to actress and presenter Molly Rainford in the dance off.
After Strictly, Ellie featured in a 2023 ITV documentary called Ellie Simmonds: Finding My Secret Family.
Viewers were in tears as they saw her meet her birth mother for the first time.
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Ellie was put up for adoption at just two weeks old after being diagnosed with dwarfism.
In the show she read an old letter handwritten by her mum in which she said she wished she'd had an abortion, or that Ellie had died.
In the lead up to the show being filmed, Ellie wrote to her mum explaining she wasn't angry at her and that she wanted to get to know her.
She sobbed as she read her mum's reply in which she said she had suffered with "guilt and self-hatred".
After the meeting, Ellie said: "It was amazing. We spoke about everything over the last five hours. We've got the same sense of humour we were laughing so much.
"I felt like her face was just like me. What touched my heart was that she thinks about me everyday and she always sees me as a daughter."
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In August 2024, Ellie took a role of the presenter for Channel 4's coverage of the Paralympic Games in Paris.
In the same month, she won the fourth series of Cooking with the Stars.
In March 2025, Ellie joined prestigious dog show Crufts as a co-presenter alongside Radzi Chinyanganya, Sophie Morgan and Clare Balding.
Ahead of the event in her hometown Birmingham, Ellie said:“I've grown up with Crufts because I come from not too far away from here. You always knew Crufts was in town.
“I've been before and to get asked to be part of the presenter team, how could you say no?
“I've already spent so many hours with dogs and puppies and it just brings you so much happiness. You're in a room full of dogs and that's the most amazing place ever.”
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What has Ellie Simmonds won?
Ellie was the youngest British athlete at the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing, and won gold medals in the 100m freestyle and 400m freestyle.
Four years later in front of a vociferous home crowd, she was on the money again, defending her 400m freestyle title with a new world record and also securing the 200m individual medley.
Ellie also won silver in the 100m freestyle and bronze in the 50m freestyle in London.
She defended her 200m individual medley title in Rio, winning her fifth Paralympic gold medal.
The swimming star also won bronze in the 400m freestyle in Rio, bringing up her total of Paralympic medals to eight.
In addition, she's also won ten gold World Championship titles.
Before retiring in September 2021, Ellie swam in the S6 disability category.
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