Strictly Come Dancing contestant Ellie Goldstein has responded to concern from viewers over Saturday night's first live show, reassuring them that she was doing fine and that they didn't need to worry.

The model and actor is taking part in the current season of the BBC competition show, and after her first performance with professional dance partner Vito Coppola, she was seen with watery eyes.

That led to fans thinking that she was upset, but she took to her Instagram to say that wasn't the case.

"Just a little note: sometimes my eyes get watery after a long day - I promise I'm not upset!" she wrote. "I'm doing so well and feeling SO happy, and your concern truly means the world."

Ellie and Vito danced the Cha-cha-cha to Ariana Grande's 'Yes, And?' and received a score of 17 by the judges. They did better than Chris Robshaw and Nadiya Bychkova, who scored 14, and Thomas Skinner and Amy Dowden, who scored 16.

vito coppola, ellie goldstein, strictly come dancing
BBC

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Elsewhere in her post, Ellie wrote: "Thank you all so much for the incredible love and support! I'm over the moon that so many of you enjoyed watching me dance [Saturday] night - I'm honestly having the time of my life. This really is a dream come true!

"I feel so lucky to be surrounded by the most amazing support team: my wonderful family, my agents, the whole Strictly crew, and of course my incredible dance partner Vito. I couldn't ask for better.

"Dancing on this stage makes me feel strong, sassy, confident, and completely myself - I'm loving every single minute!"

She concluded her post by saying: "Yes, I have Down syndrome, but it doesn't define me. Not even close. It's actually the least interesting thing about me."

ellie goldstein, vito coppola, strictly come dancing
BBC

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The biggest drama of the first week was Dani Dyer withdrawing and Amber Davies stepping in to replace her. On Saturday's show, Nikita Kuzmin paid tribute to Dani.

Next week's episode will see a new twist on the Strictly formula: the head judge role is going to cycle between the judging panel, which could bring more unpredictability to the results shows.

Strictly Come Dancing airs on Saturdays on BBC One, while spin-off Strictly: It Takes Two airs on weeknights on BBC Two. Both shows are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.

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Joe Anderton is a freelance news writer at Digital Spy, having worked there since 2016. In his time, he's covered a host of live events and interviewed celebrities big and small. A big fan of TV and movies both mainstream and obscure, Joe also enjoys video games and in particular PlayStation. Joe currently does not use Twitter, but he only ever used it to tell people to watch the film Help! I'm a Fish.