Former Olympian Harry Aikines-Aryeetey was visibly moved after his first dance on Strictly Come Dancing, sharing how a serious injury nearly forced him to retire from professional athletics.
A popular contestant on the show Gladiators had to withdraw earlier this year after getting injured while practicing.
He admitted he plays with a lot of intensity, sometimes to a fault. “I’m powerful, and I’ve pushed myself so hard that I’ve actually injured myself – I have a bit of a bad knee,” he explained. “But that’s just part of playing sports at a high level.”
Despite being given the go-ahead to continue and returning to the dance floor on Strictly, Harry was visibly emotional and cried after performing the Cha Cha with Karen Hauer.
After his energetic dance, Harry told Tess Daly that a year ago, he couldn’t have imagined doing something like that. He explained he’d gone through a tough time and wasn’t sure he’d ever feel like himself again. He’s grateful to be back to feeling like himself, especially after an injury left him worried he might not be able to walk or run.
He shared that he’d long imagined this moment, and while he’d tried to push through during the holidays, he hadn’t been fully recovered. Now he was feeling completely healthy and expressed his gratitude.
Harry’s performance was a hit with the crowd, even with a small stumble. He did push-ups while Karen was balanced on his back!
Honestly, it was amazing to watch! After that dance, he barely had a moment to catch his breath before he was right back on the floor, this time with Anton Du Beke. Anton was clearly impressed and even joked he’d give them a perfect score of 12!
As a huge fan of Gladiators, I was really interested to hear what Harry had to say before the series started. He basically said he was completely prepared and felt great – he’d made sure he was in top physical shape and ready to handle everything the show would throw at him. He felt confident after getting through the filming process that his body was up to the challenge.
Feeling happy has a positive effect on your overall health, and I’m very grateful to be recovering and feeling better.
Strictly Come Dancing continues on BBC One and iPlayer on Saturday 27th September at 6:55pm.
Don’t miss Strictly Come Dancing! Add it to your watchlist on the TopMob: What to Watch app. Download the app now for daily TV recommendations and features.
Read More
- “Sadly you don’t know how to launch in India”: OpenAI debuts ChatGPT Go at under $5/month to promote affordability, but reactions are mixed
- Skate 4 – How to Christ Air | Redemption Air
- Silver Rate Forecast
- BREAKING: Paramount Prepares Bid to Acquire Warner Bros. Discovery in Massive Media Earthquake
- Ethereum Price Plummeting: Bears Roar While Traders Yawn! 🐻📉
- Frozen 3’s Official Plot Synopsis Teases a Mysterious New Member
- EUR CLP PREDICTION
- Hideo Kojima’s Xbox Horror Game OD Gets Terrifying New Trailer
- David Tennant’s new all-star drama The Hack finally gets its air date confirmed
- Marvel’s 10 Most Dangerous Super Geniuses (But Where Does Tony Stark Land?)
2025-09-27 22:35