GLADIATORS star Fire has opened up on her Stricrtly Come Dancing signing — admitting she’s it’s been at the “top of her list” after the BBC game show.
The former Olympian, who competed in the 100m sprint and the bobsled, was revealed as the official 12th celebrity to be taking part in the dance contest today.
And Montell, 38, has high hopes to go far in the contest thanks to her dance background. She revealed at the Sheffield Utilita Arena today: “I’m absolutely ready — I was warmed up for it.
“I’m super excited because it’s an iconic show. It is, I’d say, the next best TV show on TV at the moment and it’s been around for so long, and I’m a dancer at heart.
“I feel like I belong there, and I’m super excited to just get in those skating costumes as well and maybe show a tiny bit more leg than you guys can see on Gladiators.
“I’m excited about the challenge than this because I’m an athlete, I know about the morning schedule, I know that we’re going to do something new.
“Of course when you’re learning new things, sometimes you’ll get things not so great and you’re going to get things wrong but I want to push myself and have fun.”
Montell added of her reasons to want to take part in the BBC One dance series: “It’s been at the absolute top of my list from the beginning of time, I always said there was one show that I could do.
“When I was little I really wanted to dance – I completely had to stop dancing to commit to being an athlete, and the Olympic Games.
“But now I’ve hung up my sprinting shoes, got some heels and some glitter and I’m just excited to get out there.
“I’m used to having to be able to perform, especially now being in front of the cameras, so I’ve got that with some waves ready, all the glitz and glamour
“It’s tough work, but I’m ready. I’m ready for this. I’m feverish.”
And thanks to her fiery name, Montell thinks she’s going to perform best on the steamier dances.
She concludes: “I’m looking forward to a bit of salsa, though I think the most challenging is probably going to be Latin ballroom.
“It’s a bit more poised, a bit more controlled, but I’m a bit of a firecracker.”
Strictly Come Dancing's scandal has been growing over the past few months, with several major players speaking out about what went on. Here are the key moments of what's happened so far
16th May: Giovanni Pernice sensationally quits Strictly Come Dancing after nine years on the show.
17th May: Giovanni becomes the centre of an official investigation after three former partners – believed to be Amanda Abbington, Laura Whitmore and Ranvir Singh – make complaints to the BBC.
16th June: Giovanni releases an official statement vowing to clear his name and denies any wrongdoing.
8th July: Strictly confirms Aljaz Skorjanec will return to the series, replacing Giovanni, after initially quitting the show two years ago.
10th July: Amanda Abbington launches fresh legal proceedings to get the rehearsal footage from her time with Giovanni, after allegedly he refused to release the videos.
13th July: Graziano Di Prima is axed from Strictly for “gross misconduct” after footage of his treatment of Zara McDermott is brought to the attention of the BBC.
Graziano quickly broke his silence, apologising for his behaviour in a statement and saying he “deeply regrets it”, adding his “intense passion and determination to win might have affected his training regime.”
15th July: Strictly bosses implement new duty of care protocols, including having a chaperone present throughout all rehearsals.
16th July: Zara McDermott speaks out publicly for first time. She states while the production team were “amazing to work with”, she found the rehearsal room “completely different”, confirming there’s footage of “certain situations”.
19th July: Anton Du Beke is put under the spotlight for his “1970s attitude” and treatment of female celeb stars, particularly after allegedly referring to 2009 partner Laila Rouass as a “p***” after getting a spray tan.
21st July: Paralympian Will Bayley, who has limb condition arthrogryposis, revealed he was encouraged to leap from a table during a dance routine, despite fears. The stunt caused an injury that forced him to withdraw from the show.
22nd July: MasterChef’s Gregg Wallace admits he broke down in tears and got a nasty stress rash on his face during his time on Strictly in 2014.
22nd July: Despite ongoing issues, the Strictly professional cast begin rehearsals for this year’s series.
23rd July: Celebrity agent Melanie Blake claims she was sexually assaulted by an unnamed pro dancer while backstage on the show, and claims she witnessed ageism, rudeness and a rough treatment to the point of injury.
23rd July: Strictly is forced to beef up security after ‘an intruder scales the wall of the rehearsal studio’.
23rd July: BBC boss Tim Davie breaks his silence on the ongoing allegations against Strictly, saying he is ‘deeply sorry’, adding: “Hundreds of people, be they pros, contestants or crew have been part of it and had a brilliant experience.
“At the same time if someone thinks there was something wrong or they want to talk about their experience then of course we want them to raise that with us. Be in no doubt we will take it seriously, listen and deal with it as appropriate.”
24th July: Strictly 2023 star Krishnan Guru-Murthy holds a bombshell interview with Amanda Abbington on Channel 4 news, where she claims she was bullied, with some of the ‘humilation being of a sexual nature’.
27th July: Laura Whitmore releases a statement regarding her Strictly experience, saying “I thought my experience was specific to me but I’ve since learned I was wrong”.
She adds she is not part of the official complaint, but has come forward to support Amanda with the BBC, alongside others.
28th July: Laila Rouass speaks out against the accusations regarding Anton Du Beke, saying she “never felt pressured” by him and “personally insisted on six to seven hours training a day”.
