Strictly's Ellie Goldstein's mum shares how they told her she had Down's syndrome

Ellie Goldstein is the first contestant with Down's Syndrome to ever appear on Strictly Come Dancing, but it's not the first time the 23-year-old has made history - and it doesn't look like it will be the last.

When she was born in December 2001, doctors told her parents she wold never be able to walk or talk. Her mum Yvonne says a nurse even suggested she might want to leave her newborn baby at the hospital.

Though she initially struggled with the diagnosis and was scared to bond with her daughter - who also underwent 10-hour surgery when she was five months old to close holes in her heart - Ellie has gone on to defy expectations ever since.

She's now a top model who has appeared on the cover of Vogue, bought her own house in Essex and published a book about her life, called Against All Odds. And two years after saying appearing on Strictly would be her dream as her "absolute favourite thing in the world is dancing", she's achieved that too.

READ MORE: Strictly star reveals Ellie Goldstein's backstage comment as she addresses 'tears' during live show

Describing how Ellie overcame the odds, mum Yvonne told the BBC: "After three weeks, we were able to take her home and her cheeky and determined personality began to shine through. My husband and I decided to bring her up as Ellie first and put the fact that she has got Down's syndrome to one side.

"Despite what the doctors said, she could walk by 18 months, was speaking by her third birthday and was able to read by the time she started school. Ellie stayed in mainstream education until it came to doing her exams and we moved her to a specialist school."

But it wasn't until she was a teenager that they decided to tell Ellie she had Down's syndrome. Yvonne explained: "We were nervous about her reaction and showed her a special book, but she kept saying, 'I don't look like that. I'm me.' I was worried it would knock her confidence, but it didn't."

So when a friend told Yvonne about a talent agency called Zebedee that wanted to work with people with disabilities and visible differences, she decided to apply for Ellie.

This led to Ellie being picked to star in Superdrug's Christmas advert back in 2018 - and launched her career as a model.

Though Ellie recently bought her own home with the proceeds from her modelling jobs, Yvonne said the family live alongside her, as they still don't know if she will ever be able to live alone. Though they have kept their family home and are trying to encourage Ellie to be as independent as possible.

She added: "We have to prepare her for how she will cope one day when we're not around. Her older sister Amy will obviously look out for her, but we would never put that full responsibility on her.

"I hope attitudes towards Down's syndrome have changed since Ellie was born, but there is still a lot of ignorance. Often in the street, people ask me questions about Ellie and don't address her. They don't realise she can talk and how big a personality she has."

*Watch Strictly Come Dancing on BBC1 on Saturday from 6.20pm

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