Harry Aikines-Aryeetey regained 'confidence' thanks to Strictly Come Dancing
Harry Aikines-Aryeetey loved his time on the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special.
Harry Aikines-Aryeetey rediscovered his "confidence" through the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special.
The 37-year-old star is set to compete on the latest series of Strictly and Harry is looking forward to the challenge, after overcoming an injury just before the Christmas special.
Harry - who is known as Nitro on Gladiators - told RadioTimes.com: "I'm all in really. I think I've been able to get through a filming of Gladiators, I know that my body's in good nick I've conditioned it as I should normally.
"When you're happy, your body's then happy, and it's all good. So I'm quite thankful that, and I'm far more appreciative to come back and be better."
Harry loved his first Strictly experience and he's now looking forward to the new series of the show.
Despite this, Harry insists that he doesn't have any kind of advantage over his Strictly rivals.
The former sprinter said: "I think Christmas was so much fun. It was genuinely one of the best experiences. It was great for me because I was coming off a back of an injury and that gave me the confidence because that was the first bit of activity I'd done.
"I did wonder whether I'd be able to be Harry Aikines-Aryeetey the sprinter again [or] Nitro, it was quite a serious injury. So that gave me a bit of confidence. I didn't get to actually learn a dance, I just did street commercial so I haven't got an advantage in that sense. But having been in that environment, I'm excited."
Harry felt similarly excited before he competed on the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special.
He said in November 2024: "STRICTLY... ARE YOU READY?! Nitro’s blasting onto the Ballroom floor this Christmas! I’m swapping my trainers for dancing shoes, and trust me, I’m bringing the power, the energy and the moves! This December I'm gonna light up that dancefloor and crank the Christmas spirit all the way UP. Let’s do this!"
