Strictly Come Dancing’s Harry Aikines-Aryeetey has revealed he has shock plans of waltzing into the West End following his appearance in the BBC dance competition.
But the hunky Gladiators star, 37, has revealed that unlike other show stars who opt for pantomime could easily join the cast of saucy strip show Magic Mike Live after , piling on even more muscle during show rehearsals.
Based on the Channing Tatum movie the live stage show in London’s Hippodrome features hunky male dancers stripping off.
Harry laughed: ‘Oh yeah, Magic Mike is incoming, and I am getting bigger. It’s actually muscle I’m putting on. I made the mistake of listening to people telling me I’d lose a load of muscle through this process’.
During last week’s live show Harry, better known as Nitro on Gladiators, left judge Shirley Ballas blushing after he turned up the heat with a sizzling shirtless salsa alongside partner Karen Hauer.
Speaking about his physique he said: ‘Typically you eat a lot before, to compensate for that. So going into this I ate more to put on a bit of weight and muscle, so when I did the process, I’d return to my normal weight.
Strictly Come Dancing’s Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, 37, has revealed he has plans to waltzing into the West End following his appearance in the BBC dance competition
But the Gladiators star, 37, revealed after piling on even more muscle during training he could easily join the cast of saucy strip show Magic Mike Live
Based on the Channing Tatum movie the live stage show in London’s Hippodrome features hunky male dancers stripping off (pictured)
He told The Sun: ‘I’ve been on the physio table the last couple of weeks and he’s been like, ‘Your calves have got bigger. It’s because I’m wearing Cuban heels now — they’re good to go. Now I love a pair of heels.’
Harry left judge Shirley, 65, hot under the collar with his shirtless routine inspired by Mufasa from The Lion King.
The performance earned an impressive 32 points from the judges and a flurry of praise from Shirley who couldn’t help but swoon over Harry’s muscular physique, calling him ‘extraordinary in every department’.
She gushed: ‘You are the man with the million-dollar smile, for sure. You got hold of Karen and you chucked her so fast over, it’s a good job she can control it.
‘I mean, you just picked her up like it was just you know, a piece of ribbon or something.
‘It was extraordinary, it was fantastic. Your leading skills, now you’re starting to learn how to lead Karen, that was great.
Shirley then shimmied her shoulders as she added: ‘Your solo parts are down and groovy, and rock and roll and that little shake on the pecs when it went forward like that.
Emphasising her eyes, she went on: ‘Well, he decided not to wear the shirt, and I mean the pecks were going.
Harry laughed: ‘Oh yeah, Magic Mike is incoming, and I am getting bigger. It’s actually muscle I’m putting on. I made the mistake of listening to people telling me I’d lose a load of muscle’
Last week Harry, better known as Nitro on Gladiators, left judge Shirley Ballas blushing after he turned up the heat with a sizzling shirtless salsa alongside partner Karen Hauer
She gushed: ‘You are the man with the million-dollar smile, for sure. You got hold of Karen and you chucked her so fast over, it’s a good job she can control it’
‘I mean to say you’re just going from strength to strength, but you are quite extraordinary in every department.
As the audience and fellow judges hollered with laughter and cheers, she exclaimed: ‘Oh, I’m blushing.’
Meanwhile show hosts Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly are said to have ‘blindsided’ the Strictly Come Dancing cast with news of their surprise exit.
The duo stunned the TV world when they shared on Thursday they’d be stepping down from the BBC mainstay at the end of the current series in December.
Tess has been a host on Strictly since its first series in 2004, while Claudia, who also hosted spin-off It Takes Two, joined in 2010.
Sources are now claiming that none of this year’s stars knew of Tess and Claudia’s announcement, which they shared in a joint video on Instagram.
Meanwhile show hosts Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly are said to have ‘blindsided’ the Strictly Come Dancing cast with news of their surprise exit
It’s also reported that far from a last-minute move, the pair’s announcement video was actually filmed weeks ago, and had been kept aside in case they needed to reveal the exit earlier than planned.
It comes as it was revealed that it was Claudia who led her co-host Tess to depart the show, having been tempted by a string of new TV offers in the wake of her successful stint as host of The Traitors.
A source told The Sun: ‘They shot that video ages ago – much earlier in the series. They’ve had their departure video in drafts for weeks.
‘The celebs on this year’s show had no idea – everyone was blindsided by the news.’
It’s thought that Tess and Claudia were prompted to announce their exit after getting word their departure was about to be leaked.
A representative for Strictly Come Dancing declined to comment when contacted by The Daily Mail.
