OFF-DUTY SUPERHERO

Harry Aikines-Aryeeley, aka Nitro from Gladiators, reflects on how the love and support of his family have helped him move from athletics into primetime TV

- ALEXANDRA WILBY

He may be a regular fixture on Saturday night TV, thrilling fans of Gladiators with his athleticism and showmanship, but at HELLO!'s exclusive photoshoot with Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, aka Nitro, there's only one star of the show - and that's his daughter, Aubreé-Isla.

"She has such a big personality. I think she's going to be a performer," Harry says proudly as the five-year-old entertains our team by mimicking the signature poses of some of his Gladiators costars and chatting about having a tea party after the shoot – at the stunning Nonsuch Mansion in Surrey – with her mother, Lauren, Harry's wife.

It's clear that the star, whose time on Strictly Come Dancing came to an end earlier this month, relishes his role as a father. "If anything, I'm too much of a hands-on dad," he laughs. "I do her hair, take her clothes shopping… and she cooks with me. If you ask her what ingredients go into a pancake, she will tell you everything."

He admits he has become a "helicopter parent" to his daughter. "She's never felt pain. I don't want her to feel any hurt, but she's going to need to feel those bumps and bruises to learn. I’m trying to allow that as best as I can. I can stand in an arena with 80,000 people and focus on the task ahead, but the moment she’s in a room, I'm distracted.”

Known for his megawatt smile and his children’s TV show, Epic Pranks - a Gladiators spin-off in which he plays tricks on his costars Harry, 37, who has also appeared on Celebrity MasterChef and in the CBeebies cartoon Supertato, says he wants to instil positivity in his daughter.

“I choose to be happy. It’s a choice,” he says. “I ask myself every day: ‘Have I smiled enough?’ If I haven't, I'll do something to make myself smile.”