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Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, better known as his Gladiators persona Nitro, has revealed his feelings about Bradley Walsh while working with him on the show.
The 37-year-old former Commonwealth sprinter crossed paths with Walsh when the veteran presenter began hosting the rebooted version of Gladiators in 2024 alongside his son, Barney Walsh.
Aikines-Aryeetey told The Express in a new interview that Walsh is “a great guy”, praising the 66-year-old’s long and impressive career from being a professional footballer to becoming one of the most recognisable faces on TV in the UK.
Harry Aikines-Aryeetey goes by the name Nitro in the BBC’s revival of Gladiators (BBC/PA)PA Media“He's just a great guy.. The career that he's had and what he's able to do as an individual is pretty awesome,” Aikines-Aryeetey told the publication.
“You've got nothing but respect for him and you listen when he talks and try to be a part of anything that he does.”
The former athlete‘s praise for Walsh comes days after the presenter admitted he could no longer host the popular game show Blankety Blank.
The popular programme, which sees contestants try to match fill-in-the-blank answers, originally aired on the BBC from 1979 to 1990 and has since had many revivals.
It returned to screens in 2020 with Walsh leading the reboot - but last week, it was announced that the BBC has cancelled several TV shows in its latest round of cuts due to “funding challenges”, including Blankety Blank, Celebrity Mastermind and Live At The Apollo.
In an interview with Radio Times, Walsh said he is unable to host the show anymore due to scheduling conflicts.
He described Blankety Blank as “one of my favourite shows”, but explained that he is unable to return for its fourth series.
Walsh recently said he ‘physically [does] not have the time’ to host Blankety BlankITV”The thing is we’re just doing Gladiators. I get a week off and then I go to rehearsals for the live Prat Pack show,” he said.
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“I take The Prat Pack back on the road for a month, and then I would normally go straight into Blankety Blank.
“But at the moment, what I’m going to do is I’ve got other stuff which I can’t announce (yet). We’re working on a couple of dramas and scripting, and I actually physically do not have the time.”
“I would normally go to studio October, but I’m all taken up in October and November, so I just haven’t time to do it. Maybe next year,” he added.
The broadcaster and actor currently hosts programmes including The Chase, its international spin-off The Chase Around The World, and Gladiators.
Last week, the BBC said it will cancel several popular TV shows, adding that the “difficult decisions” were made as part of the first phase of its bid to save £500 million over the next three years.
The broadcaster said: “We are incredibly proud of all three of these much-loved shows and would like to thank everyone involved, both in front of and behind the camera, for bringing them to screen and making them such a success over many years.
“Unfortunately, we have to make some really tough choices in light of our funding challenges and these savings have been identified from the entertainment genre.”