STRICTLY Come Dancing has featured many sports stars over the years – from cricketers and footballers to gymnasts and athletes.
And along the way the famous faces have included some very decorated Paralympians. Here we run through the athletes who switched from their discipline to the dance floor and back again.
Which former Strictly stars are at the Paralympics Tokyo 2020?
Jonnie Peacock
Jonnie Peacock was the first Paralympian to grace the Strictly Come Dancing dance floor.
He became a household name after storming to victory in the London 2012 Games in the 100m T44 final, setting a time of 10.90 seconds.
He went on to defend his title in Rio 2016 and is going for a hat-trick of golds in Tokyo, where he’s also taking part in the mixed relay.
A year later he joined the Strictly line-up partnering Oti Mabuse and finishing in eighth place.
The judges praised him for performing a tricky jive to Chuck Berry classic Johnny B Goode wearing a brand new blade bought especially for the competition.
The double Paralympic gold-medallist competes in T44 events – T standing for track and 44 denoting single below knee amputation or an athlete who can walk with moderately reduced function in one or both legs.
Jonnie had his leg amputated at the age of five after contracting meningitis.
Lauren Steadman
Lauren Steadman took her place on the dance floor a year after Jonnie, in 2018.
The Paralympian, who was born without her right arm below the elbow joint and competed in the S9 category in swimming, was partnered with AJ Pritchard.
After rumours of a budding romance, the two just missed out on a place in the final, placing fifth overall in the competition.
She then swapped spray tans for mud as she took on – and won – the gruelling Channel 4 challenge, Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, alongside Rudimental DJ Locksmith in 2020.
Lauren admitted she enjoyed the mud more than the Strictly glitz and glam.
She said: “I’d rather do SAS ten times than go back and do Strictly.
“I loved doing both and on Strictly it was about being proud of who I am and inspiring people — I got to be a beautiful, glitzy, glamorous girl.
“But I wanted to show you can be girly and sporty, and SAS just resonated more with me.
“I’d rather be caked in mud and sweat than fake tan and sequins — I found that tough on Strictly.”
Tokyo 2020 will be Lauren’s fourth Paralympics, having taken part in Beijing, London, and Rio.
In Beijing the swimmer, then just 15, competed in the S9 freestyle events in 50 metres, 100 metres and 400 metres in the pool but did not advance from the heats.
Returning in London, she placed eighth in the 100m and sixth in the 400m in the pool.
Lauren then switched to the paratriathlon and won her first Paralympics medal – a silver – in Rio.
She is hoping to go one better in Tokyo.
Will Bayley
Table tennis player Will Bayley was the third Paralympian to show his moves on the Strictly dance floor.
Will joined the show in 2019, dancing with Janette Manrara.
Will was impressing the judges before having to withdraw from the competition due to a serious knee injury.
Before the Tokyo Paralympics, Will revealed the year's delay due to the coronavirus pandemic had benefited him as he looked to recover from his Strictly injury.
Will, who tore his cruciate ligament and all of his meniscus, admitted: “I mean I felt a bit bad but I celebrated almost that it was delayed.
“The Paralympics mean a lot to me. I want to be there. And I knew I had an extra year to recover."
Tokyo will be Will's fourth Paralympics after taking part in Beijing at the age of 20.
He won silver in the table tennis Individual Class 7 in London before trading up to gold in Rio.
The three times medallist also won a bronze in the men’s team Class 6-8 event.
Will was born on January 17, 1988, with arthrogryposis which affects all four of his limbs.
As a child Will had chemotherapy for blood cancer non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and was treated for genetic condition arthrogryposis — which caused curvatures in both his hands and feet.
JJ Chalmers
Former Strictly dancer JJ Chalmers has retired from sport but will be part of the Paralympics coverage on Channel 4.
However JJ was never actually a Paralympic athlete – he has only been part of the event on the presenting side.
JJ is a former para athlete though, having taken part in the London Invictus Games in 2014 where he won a bronze in the non-amputee cycling one-mile time trial.
He also won a bronze medal in the 4 × 100m mixed relay race and a gold in the team recumbent circuit race.
Formerly Lance Corporal Chalmers in the 42 Commando Unit, Royal Marines, JJ served in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.
In May 2011, he sustained severe injuries in an IED blast including a crushed eye socket and burst eardrums, as well as disintegrating his right elbow and losing two fingers
His first Paralympics was in Rio in 2016 as a Channel 4 host, and he's back in the hotseat for Tokyo after also being part of the Olympics presenting team on the BBC.
JJ made it to the quarter finals in Strictly 2020 with his professional dance partner Amy Dowden.
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