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Strictly Come Dancing judge Motsi Mabuse and Ellie Simmonds were caught sharing a heartfelt moment on Saturday night, after the competition’s third live show.
The judge appeared to comfort the Olympic swimmer entrant in the snaps, holding her arms as they gathered at their hotel after a busy night.
During the show, mistakes in Ellie’s routine led to some criticism from the judges, as the star admitted she was “so, so nervous” when she hit the dance floor.
Comforting: Strictly’s Motsi Mabuse shared a heartfelt moment with Ellie Simmonds on Saturday night when they were caught in their hotel after her third live performance
Ellie, Strictly’s first contestant with dwarfism, got some footwork blunders during her performance with pro partner Nikita Kuzmin.
But it seems the pro-turned-judge Motsi had some encouraging words for the sportswoman, with the photos showing the pair engaged in conversation.
The two ladies had both dressed up earlier in the evening of the glitzy live show, with Motsi wearing cycling shorts and a white hoodie with a smiley print.
Comfortable: The pair were both dressed from the glitzy live show earlier in the evening, with Motsi wearing cycling shorts and a white hoodie with a smiley print
Supportive: The judge appeared to comfort the Olympic swimmer entrant in the snaps, holding her arms as they gathered at their hotel after a busy night
Dance floor: Nikita and Ellie danced a Quickstep to Ludovico Bource’s Peppy and George during the Movies Week live show
In the zone: The pair appeared to be in deep conversation as they got ready to wind down for the evening
While Ellie had swapped out her Hollywood glamor cocktail dress for black leggings and a matching quilted jacket, pulling her blonde locks into a tousled bun.
The swimmer beamed at Motsi, who seemed animated during the conversation as she spoke with her hands.
Nikita and Ellie danced a Quickstep to Ludovico Bource’s Peppy and George during the Movies Week live show.
They took 27 out of 40 points for the performance, with Motsi saying afterwards that she “loved Ellie’s personality” during the performance, but claimed the “nerves got to her.”
Judges: Ellie’s mistakes during her performance were noticed by the four judges, Shirley Ballas, Anton Du Beke, Craig Revel Horwood and Motsi
Friends: While Motsi was holding Ellie’s arms, the latter appeared cheerful – beaming to the right
Calm: Ellie had swapped out her Hollywood glamor cocktail dress for black leggings and a matching quilted jacket, and pulled her blonde locks into a tousled bun
She explained: “I have a feeling it could be fantastic. It was such a great set up and what I like to see is your personality grow, grow. You understand the performance, the story, all that.
“Maybe the nerves are getting to you today, try to calm yourself down next week, girl.”
Anton Du Beke criticized her footwork, explaining, “You’re going to look back on this and be a little disappointed because the footwork wasn’t great.”
“I’m sorry, I’d like to say it was brilliant, but I can’t,” he continued.
While Craig Revel Horwood agreed, he admitted that despite the good choreography, the timing wasn’t right at the beginning, with some mistakes in the middle.
Couture but comfy: Motsi wore a pair of Prada sneakers with checkerboard socks, after looking glitzy in a white dress earlier in the evening
Animated: Motsi seemed animated as she spoke with her hands during the conversation
Nerves: Motsi told Ellie during the show: ‘Maybe the nerves are getting to you today, try to calm yourself down next week girl’
After the performance, Ellie admitted to presenting to Claudia Winkleman how nervous she gets to dance live.
“Let’s talk about the nerves, you told me you’re more nervous about dancing than jumping in the pool to win a gold medal,” Claudia asked.
As Ellie explained, “Oh yeah, I was so nervous. I’m nervous every night, and you can see it. My hands are sweating. I’m so, so nervous.’
Elsewhere, Tyler West won in the evening, when he and partner Diane Buswell topped the scoreboard with an impressive 38 out of 40.