While the latest series of Strictly Come Dancing may be a distant memory to some of you out there, that isn’t the case over here at Closer. The 20th series of the dancing competition gave us the tear-jerking win of Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell, the unexpectedly fiery moves of Pete Wicks, and several standout dances.
One contestant that still sticks in our mind is Montell Douglas— also known as Fire to Gladiator fans. She competed alongside Johannes Radebe on the show and made it all the way to the quarter finals before being sent home. In her final night, she faced off against Love Island 2022’s Tasha Ghouri and her partner Aljaž Škorjanec, but in the end she and Johannes were no match for their tango to Ex-Wives from Six the Musical.
While, of course, it’s practically in our contract to support any Love Island / Strictly Come Dancing crossover, even we have to admit that we were gutted to see the Gladiator go.
However, Montell didn’t stay down for long, and she recently headed off on the Strictly tour, this time dancing her way around the country with a new partner, professional dancer Kai Widdrington.
So, when we got the chance to sit down with Montell we obviously got straight to the gossip everyone wants to know — what did she manage to steal before being booted off?
Luckily, she didn’t disappoint.
She said, ‘[I stole] loads of stuff. Don't tell them, but loads. I actually took my couples' choice costume, which I'm hoping I can rock at carnival this year! It's something really special and I will probably frame it eventually, to be honest. That outfit represents more than just acquiring the skill and developing a friendship, we were representing where we come from. And I know how special it was for all my family to see that on Strictly.’
Not that we’d ever support theft over here at Closer, but that dress looked like it was made for her, so we can hardly blame her for taking advantage of the five-finger discount.
Strictly Come Dancing The Live Tour runs until 9 February. For venues and tickets head on over to the Strictly Come Dancing Live website