Meet Strictly Come Dancing’s Montell Douglas, AKA Fire from Gladiators
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Get ready with your snacks, put on your dancing shoes, and pull out your sparkliest outfit because the new season of Strictly Come Dancing has arrived!
This year's competition is especially noteworthy because it marks the show's 20th anniversary. Additionally, this season represents a fresh start for the competition as it embraces a reimagined workplace culture. This shift comes in the wake of recent allegations that have prompted the Strictly team to enhance support for contestants. To improve their welfare, they are now employing chaperones to oversee interactions during rehearsals.
Naturally, a new season brings a fresh lineup of 15 celebrities ready to dance the Rumba, Cha Cha, and Waltz on our screens every Saturday evening. One of them is Montell Douglas, a versatile athlete and television star who captured the hearts of BBC viewers as Fire on the 2024 revival of Gladiators.
Before she became known for taking on aspiring Gladiators contestants on television, the 38-year-old sprinter proudly represented Great Britain in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, making it to the second round of the women's 100 meters.
She once set the British record for the quickest 100m sprint and claimed a Commonwealth Gold medal in the 4x100m relay event in 2010.
In 2016, Douglas made a change and began competing in bobsleigh. She quickly shone in this new sport, achieving a top 10 finish in her first Bobsleigh World Cup in January 2017. By 2018, she had risen to the position of reserve athlete for Great Britain at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.
She played a leading part at the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing, competing for Great Britain alongside Mica McNeill in their two-person bobsleigh team, and they secured a sixth-place finish.
After switching from sprinting to bobsleigh, Douglas made history by becoming the first woman from the UK to take part in both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games.
Douglas grew up in Lewisham, located in south London, and later pursued a degree in sports science at university. During this time, she also began building her impressive sports career, marking her debut in a major championship at the 2007 European Athletics Indoor Championships.
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She first made her mark on television in 2011 with an appearance on an episode of Who Dares Wins. Later, she showcased her competitive spirit on Gladiators, where her tactical and intense approach as the character Fire quickly won the audience's affection. She would often outmaneuver her opponents, taking them down with a massive Q-tip or tackling them to the ground like a rugby player.
When discussing her entrance into the dance world, Douglas expressed, “Strictly ARE YOU READY, Fire has arrived to illuminate the ballroom.”
"I’m truly thrilled to have the opportunity to be a part of the show. It’s an incredible experience, and I’m eager to dive in. I hope that some of my moves from Gladiators will be useful when I tackle the Tango or Paso Doble!" she expressed.
