Gladiator star and former Olympian Harry Aikines-Aryeetey made his Strictly Come Dancing debut tonight, and found himself getting more emotional than expected.
The athlete, 37, performed a Cha Cha Cha to Push It by Salt-N-Pepa alongside professional partner, Karen Hauer.
As the routine drew to a close, presenter Tess Daly noted Mr Aikines-Aryeetey seemed overwhelmed and quickly commented: “Harry! Are you OK? You alright? Talk to me! Go on, what’s wrong?”
The former sprinter paused before commenting: “This time last year, I just… I wasn’t able to do anything like that.
Tess Daly was quick to comfort Harry in the emotional moment
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“And I never thought I’d be myself again… It just feels so nice to be myself at last.”
“You had an injury,” Ms Daly explained before Mr Aikines-Aryeetey continued: “I had an injury and I wasn’t able to walk, run, yeah… I just feel emotional.
“It’s just… I’ve dreamt of that moment, and even though I did [Strictly] Christmas, I wasn’t 100 per cent, and now here I am – I’m 100 per cent, it’s amazing and I’m so thankful.”
“Well you should be so proud of yourself right now!” Ms Daly offered supportively.
Harry Aikines-Aryeetey broke down in tears after the performance
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BBC
“Well done, come on!” Ms Hauer cheered as the audience applauded.
“We are so proud of you,” Ms Daly continued, adding: “You owned that out there, and thank you so much for a little bit of Salt-N-Pepa from Dave Arch!”
After thanking the conductor and band, the presenter turned back to Aikines-Aryeetey and commented: “Harry, we love you to bits… But brace yourself because we are going to Craig now.”
“Yeah, it’s all good!” the athlete replied as judge Craig Revel Horwood geared up to offer his take on the performance.
“The timing was out as you’ll be fully aware,” he began in a typically Craig fashion.
“And I’d like to see a little bit more freedom in the hip department, I’ve got to be honest. The footwork was very haphazzard as well.”
Displaying an expressing of disgust, he added: “And push-ups darling, are not in the Cha Cha Cha.”
“They should be! They are now,” Ms Daly quipped.
Gladiator Harry Aikines-Aryeetey shared that he had faced a tough year
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BBC
Motsi Mabuse praised the performance but noted Mr Aikines-Aryeetey’s nerves.
“But keep that enthusiasm, and as Craig said, just clean it up,” she advised. “Keep this energy, it was so entertaining.”
Shirley Ballas remarked: “Well, 60 years of doing the Cha Cha Cha, I’ve never quite seen one like that!”
Referring to his push-up within the routine, which saw Ms Hauer standing on his back as he pulled off the move, Ms Motsi added: “But let me tell you, you’ve got a viral moment in there! That’s going to be on TikTok, that push-up.
“You stood on there and you’ve got that bop going and you can put that in the Cha Cha Cha.
“It’s ok to go wrong – it’s how quick you pick it up, and you picked up really quickly.”
Meanwhile, Anton Du Beke decided to try the push-up move himself, requesting Ms Ballas to stand on him as he left his seat.
However, it ended up being Mr Du Beke who stood on Aikines-Aryeetey after the athlete asked: “Do you want a ride?”