Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Record
Daily Record
Entertainment
Katherine Heslop & Siobhan Macdonald

BBC Strictly pro Nikita splits with girlfriend of five years to 'focus' on show with Ellie Simmonds

Strictly Come Dancing professional Nikita Kuzmin has reportedly broken up with his girlfriend of five years, Nicole Wirt.

The pair, who are both professional dancers, reportedly came to this conclusion mutually as they are both so busy with work, and Nicole is mainly based in Germany. This comes after Nikita, 24, and his Paralympian partner Ellie Simmonds received high praises from judges for their "magical" waltz, reports the Mirror.

A source told The Sun: “Nikita wanted to totally focus on this series of Strictly and decided a while back he wanted to end his relationship with Nicole. They had been together for five years and it ended up being a mutual decision. Nicole is mainly based in Germany and she is getting busier with work."

Nicole did visit Nikita in London regularly but their schedules were making that difficult, the source said, adding that the pair only want the best for each other. The insider said that for now Nikita "wants to put all of his focus on Ellie and their journey on Strictly."

After Saturday's waltz, Nikita took to Instagram to praise Ellie and thank their fans.

(PA)

Sharing a clip of the pair, he wrote: "Beautiful and emotional evening. Hard week, but payed off at the end. We had a feeling that we are doing something special and something that’s bigger that us. Well done @elliesimmonds always fighting back, giving it all and performing at best under pressure like the champ that you are."

The pro dancer went on: "Grateful to be there for another week. Thank you everyone who is there for us [love heart emoji] MOVIES WEEK WE ARE COMING [stars emoji]"

Ellie Simmonds will be dancing with Nikita (PA)

In the rehearsal studio, in scenes aired during Saturday's episode, Nikita and Ellie spoke about how they were adapting the waltz for the sportswoman's achondroplasia dwarfism – and were proud of breaking new ground.

After their performance to Can't Help Falling In Love by Elvis, Ellie appeared emotional and wiped away tears as the judges give their feedback. Head judge Shirley Ballas said: "There's so much magic in something so simple and that's what you did today. It was just beautifully executed. You show people we can all do what we love."

Motsi Mabuse had huge praise for the performance, adding: "You guys are just special what can I say."

Fans took to Twitter to share their praise, with one person saying: "Holy Moly Ellie Simmonds dancing to Can't Help Falling In Love has just finished me n @acacia_jude off #Strictly ".

Earlier in the week week, Nikita and Ellie spoke about how they adapted the dance. Speaking on This Morning, the pro dancer said: "Realistically, it's quite a lot but at the same time we still have the same technique. We still have the same rules but I think we're doing something very special so we're investing all our hearts into everything."

Get the latest celebrity gossip and telly news sent straight to your inbox. Sign up to our weekly Showbiz newsletter here .

READ NEXT:

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.