Meet Strictly Come Dancing’s Montell Douglas, AKA Fire from Gladiators
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Get your popcorn ready, put on your dancing shoes, and pull out your sparkliest outfit because it's time for the new season of Strictly Come Dancing!
This year's competition is especially significant because it marks the 20th anniversary of the show. This season also represents a fresh start for the competition, as it embraces a new workplace culture due to recent allegations that have emerged. In response to these concerns, the Strictly team is implementing additional welfare measures to better support the contestants, such as hiring chaperones to oversee interactions during rehearsals.
Naturally, with the arrival of a new season, we can expect a fresh lineup of 15 celebrities ready to dance the Rumba, Cha Cha, and Waltz each Saturday evening. One of these stars is Montell Douglas, a versatile athlete and television figure who captured the hearts of BBC audiences as Fire in the 2024 revival of Gladiators.
Before she became known for her fierce competition against aspiring Gladiators on television, the 38-year-old sprinter proudly represented Great Britain at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, making it to the second round in the women’s 100 meters.
She used to hold the British women's record for the quickest 100-meter sprint and claimed a Commonwealth Gold medal in the 4x100-meter relay in 2010.
In 2016, Douglas changed her athletic focus and began competing in bobsleigh. She adapted to the sport rapidly and managed to secure a spot in the top 10 at her first Bobsleigh World Cup in January 2017. By 2018, she earned the position of reserve athlete for Team GB at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.
She played a key part in the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing, competing for Great Britain with Mica McNeill in their two-person bobsleigh team, where they ended up in sixth place.
After switching from sprinting to bobsleigh, Douglas made history as the first woman from the UK to take part in both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games.
Douglas grew up in Lewisham, a neighborhood in south London, and later pursued a degree in sports science at university. While studying, she also began to build her impressive sports career, making her debut at a significant competition during the 2007 European Athletics Indoor Championships.
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She first stepped into the world of television in 2011 with an appearance on an episode of Who Dares Wins. Later, as Fire on Gladiators, her cunning strategies and fierce determination made her a fan favorite. Viewers loved watching her take down the competition, whether she was wrestling them with a giant Q-tip or tackling them to the ground like a rugby player.
When discussing her entry into the world of dance, Douglas expressed, “Strictly ARE YOU READY? The excitement is ready to ignite the ballroom.”
"I'm incredibly grateful to have been invited to participate in the show. It's a fantastic opportunity, and I'm really looking forward to diving in. I hope that some of my Gladiator skills will be useful when it comes to dancing the Tango or Paso Doble!" she expressed.
