Harry Aikines-Aryeetey: The Gladiators star and Team GB sprinter hoping to race to victory on Strictly

Athlete has competed at two Olympics for GB and previously featured on a ‘Strictly’ christmas special

Former Team GB sprinter Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, better known to many as Nitro from Gladiators, was the first contestant announced for this year's Strictly Come Dancing.

“I'm so excited to be part of the Strictly family this series and I'm ready to give it all I've got,” said the 37-year-old. “I’ll be bringing tons of energy to light up the dance floor. Let’s hope I’m as quick picking up the routines as I am on the track.”

The athlete, who joined Gladiators in 2023, took part in last year’s Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special alongside professional dancer Nancy Xu, coming joint second with an impressive score of 37.

Speaking of returning to the show after the festive edition, Aikines-Aryeetey said it “was so nice I just had to do it twice”.

Aikines-Aryeetey has competed at the highest level in the UK since his youth, becoming the first athlete to win gold medals at both 100 and 200 metres at the World Youth Championships, and winning the 2005 BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year award aged 17.

He would later go on to win gold at the 2006 World Junior Championships in Athletics in Beijing, China. Competing as part of Team GB’s 4x100 relay team, Aikines-Aryeetey won bronze at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics.

Aikines-Aryeetey has won multiple gold medals in athletics during his career (BBC)

An Olympian, Aikines-Aryeetey competed at both the 2008 games in Beijing and the 2016 games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, representing Team GB in the 4x100m relay squad – but he came home without medals on both occasions.

Aikines-Aryeetey would go on to win gold in the 4x100 relay at both the 2018 and 2022 Commonwealth Games and also finished first in the same event at the 2014, 2018 and 2022 European Championships.

In 2023, he was announced as a Gladiator on the BBC’s reboot of the beloved show, made famous on ITV in the 1990s. Aikines-Aryeetey adopted the moniker of “Nitro” and became a fan favourite among Gladiators viewers thanks to his high-octane energy and physical accomplishments. He also hosts the spin-off show Gladiators: Epic Pranks, which debuted on CBBC earlier this year.

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He follows in the footsteps of his Gladiators co-star Montell Douglas, who appeared on last year’s series of Strictly and was eliminated in week 10.