EXC: James Jordan slams Steph’s Packed Lunch bosses for ‘stitching him up’ over Ellie Simmonds tweet

James Jordan has blasted ‘pathetic’ Steph’s Packed Lunch bosses for ‘stitching him up’ during his appearance on the ‘s**t’ Channel 4 programme last week.

The former Strictly pro, 44, has alleged his recent tweet about Ellie Simmonds, 27, the ballroom show’s first contestant with dwarfism, had been taken out of context, which he claims should allow him to sue the broadcaster for defamation.

Taking to social media during the series premiere, James had shared that while he’d enjoyed her performance, he didn’t think the Paralympian was extending her legs enough – which sparked backlash due to her disability.

Fans were quick to point out that one of the common symptoms is bow legs, which would hamper the 4ft swimmer on the dance floor, and the topic was brought up by presenter Steph McGovern during James’ chat on her show on Friday.

The TV personality admitted he’s ‘upset’ that Ellie may read misconstrued versions of his comments, which he claims originated from Steph’s Packed Lunch, however MailOnline has found prior evidence of the story existing.

When quizzed about the controversy during an exclusive interview with MailOnline, James read his tweet aloud, in which he had written: ‘Ellie! I bloody loved it! Well done Nikita [Kuzman, her dance partner] – a full on routine – great timing and fun.

‘She needs to try and consciously straighten her legs as much as possible. Loved the tricks. BUT she needs to believe in herself now.’

Uh-oh: Fans were quick to point out that one of the common symptoms is bow legs, which would hamper the 4ft swimmer on the dance floor, and the topic was brought up by presenter Steph McGovern (pictured) during James’ chat on her show on Friday

Sharing his thoughts on the reaction by some, he said: ‘If someone can read that tweet and twist it into something negative, they are the ones choosing to be offended.

‘They’ve chosen to be offended about something that wasn’t meant in a malicious way. And also, they have to remember I’m an expert, a former Latin dancer, so I’ve been dancing for over 30 years.

‘I would imagine I know more than anyone that’s moaned about that or been offended by that tweet. She was physically bending her leg so she wasn’t straight with it. So it was just my way of trying to…

‘I’m quite aware that she has dwarfism and that she can’t have her legs as straight as I can, but if someone’s bending their leg, it’s technically wrong. So I was talking about a technical aspect with the cha-cha-cha and so somebody chose to be offended by that.’

Opinion: Taking to social media during the series premiere, James had shared that while he’d enjoyed her performance, he didn’t think the Paralympian was extending her legs enough – which sparked backlash due to her disability (pictured with Nikita Kuzmin) 

Directing his frustration towards the daytime show, James continued: ‘I actually… you know what? This was made a thing from Steph’s Packed Lunch.

‘Steph’s Packed Lunch, I don’t know, maybe one of their researchers have gone out there and gone, “Right, we’ve got James Jordan on. Let’s read through all his tweets, see if we can find anything negative that we can make a story out of because we’ve got a s**t show and we can’t get a headline so let’s try and use him to get a headline,” and then they’ve tried to stitch me up in the process when all I had for Ellie was love and they’ve turned it around and made it look negative.

‘What upsets me is that Ellie’s gonna read all the stories saying, “James Jordan attacking Ellie on her dwarfism.” No I didn’t.

‘That to me is bad journalism and I should be able to sue them for defamation of character, really, because it’s pathetic that they’ve turned something so positive and nice coming from a nice place in my heart and then made it out to be that I’m attacking her. No I didn’t.’ 

When asked whether he will indeed sue, he replied: ‘No I couldn’t be bothered but if Steph’s Packed Lunch need to use me for their ratings, I don’t know… maybe they need me to host the show possibly. James’ Packed Lunch.’

The former Celebrity Big Brother contestant added: ‘People don’t stand up for what’s right sometimes because they’re too afraid to say things. It’s the way the world’s gone.

‘I’m glad I’m not afraid to say what I believe in. Eamonn Holmes, for example, I find him so refreshing and he’s so honest with the way he approaches TV. 

‘I think he’s amazing, I find him brilliant, but we don’t see him as much as we used to because he doesn’t necessarily… I don’t know what TV is really about anymore.’

Representatives for Steph’s Packed Lunch declined to comment when contacted by MailOnline. 

Explaining: Appearing on video link with wife Ola and their daughter Ella, two, he had explained to Steph: ‘I specifically put on there [Twitter] that I can see her dance sometimes with bent legs, I can see her bending her legs’ 

Angry: Directing his frustration towards the daytime show, James later told MailOnline of the controversy: ‘I actually… you know what? This was made a thing from Steph’s Packed Lunch’

Appearing on video link with wife Ola and their daughter Ella, two, he had explained to Steph on Friday: ‘I specifically put on there [Twitter] that I can see her dance sometimes with bent legs, I can see her bending her legs.

‘I’m not saying her legs are going to go dead straight, I never said that, but she needs to be consciously thinking about extending her legs. She’s actually bending into it when it should be straight.’

‘This is where it becomes difficult. If you’re going to have someone like that on there… I’m sure Ellie would want to be critiqued –  this is just people jumping on the bandwagon… ‘

He went on: ‘She is on there representing dwarfism which I think is an amazing thing and actually when I watched her dance, out of everybody’s, I found it really heart-warming. 

Oh no! The TV personality admitted he’s ‘upset’ that Ellie may read misconstrued versions of his comments, which he claims originated from Steph’s Packed Lunch, however MailOnline has found prior evidence of the story existing (pictured with wife Ola and daughter Ella) 

‘But I’m still going to critique her the same as everybody else and I actually believe the judges didn’t critique her the same as everybody else, and I think that’s a mistake.

‘If you’re going to have these people on there, which I think is great, critique them the same.’ 

When asked if he regretted his tweets, James insisted: ‘I still stand by it. I meant it with no malice whatsoever and if it’s offended people they’ve chosen to be offended by it.’

Elsewhere, James is supporting this year’s Stoptober campaign, where he’s urging smokers to stub out the habit for good this month.

Research shows that if you can quit for 28 days, you are five times more likely to quit for good, making October the perfect time to join in with the thousands of other making an attempt.

He said: ‘I smoked for 27 years. My quitting journey has shown me that I am more capable than I thought, thanks to the support of my own family and friends and the professional help I sought. 

‘Quitting smoking can improve your health, quality of life and save you money. I am so glad I took this step, and I promise you, you will be too.’

James Jordan is supporting this year’s Stoptober campaign. Quitting with Stoptober will boost your confidence and help you stay smokefree for 28 days by being part of a community and support network. For free support to quit, search ‘Stoptober’.

Supportive: James had written in his tweet: ‘Ellie! I bloody loved it! Well done Nikita – a full on routine – great timing and fun’