Ellie Simmonds has been faced with awful messages from trolls after appearing on the launch show of BBC's Strictly Come Dancing.
The 27 year old Paralympian was left feeling deflated after an onslaught of negative messages emerged online despite receiving compliments from all of the judges while performing alongside professional dancer Nikita Kuzmin.
Before the popular dance compeition kicked off, Ellie who has achondroplasia dwarfism, confessed she was nervous to sign up for the show due to the keyboard warriors.
READ MORE: James Jordan claims Strictly judges 'softened' Ellie Simmonds dance critique
Speaking to The Sun about receiving negative comments, the swimmer said: "I’ve had it already. Some people have said, 'How’s the dwarf going to dance?' It’s sad and it does get to you."
On Saturday night's show Ellie performed the Cha Cha Cha to DANCE by DNCE and recevied exceptional reviews from judges and fans.
Praising her performance, judge Anton du Beke said: "You powered across the floor, like, 'Okay, here we go,' and your side-by-side work was great."
Meanwhile Craig Revel Horwood expressed: "I have to agree with Anton, the timing, the attitude, the rhythm… fantastic."
Fans on Twitter also shared their views with one person writing: "Anyone who says anything nasty about Ellie needs their head wobbled. That was so fun, lovely considerate choreography, well done Nikita and Ellie."
Another viewer echoed: "Ellie Simmonds is the fiercest woman in Britain. Rips up the rule book and just does her. Proud of her #Strictly."
While a third chimed: "I had the absolute pleasure of meeting Ellie Simmonds earlier this year. She is a truly beautiful person and I’m not at all surprised she has danced so well tonight."
Ahead of the show, Ellie spoke out about her journey and the representation of disabled contestants.
She told Hello: "The disability representation and dwarfism and it’s so out my comfort zone and it’s about adapting. Nikita and I were saying, ‘How are we going to work it,’ and we’re both in the unknown."
"He’s never danced with anyone with dwarfism before, I’ve never danced before, so how’s it going to work out.
"I feel like, I’ve seen Rose do it last year, JJ, Lauren and Johnny… The dwarfism community, I’ve had so many people reaching out, not just in the UK but worldwide like, “Wow Ellie you’re doing this, you’re going to help us and represent us."
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