“They just said to me, ‘Make us proud.'”

By James Hibbs

Published: Friday, 08 March 2024 at 11:47 AM


We’re heading towards the end of the first week of this year’s Celebrity Big Brother, with the famous faces now settling in at the house.

One of those who entered the house on Monday was Strictly Come Dancing professional Nikita Kuzmin, who last year reached the final alongside his celebrity partner Layton Williams.

Kuzmin spoke with The Sun before entering the house, and revealed that he asked permission to do the show from his Strictly bosses at the BBC.

When quizzed on whether he had to ask the BBC bosses before going on the show, Kuzmin said: “Yeah. To be fair, I also asked out of respect. They’re the ones who brought me to this country and gave me all these opportunities. I feel almost like they raised me, in a way.

“They just said to me, ‘Make us proud.’”

Layton Williams and Nikita Kuzmin performing on Strictly Come Dancing wearing glittery outfits
Layton Williams and Nikita Kuzmin on Strictly Come Dancing.
BBC/Guy Levy

Kuzmin first joined Strictly Come Dancing in 2021, and has since been paired up with Tilly Ramsay, Ellie Simmonds and Williams, finishing sixth, 10th and second with each of them respectively.

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Tonight’s (Friday 8th March) episode of Celebrity Big Brother will see Gary Goldsmith and Lauren Simon face the first public vote of the series, with one of them set to be evicted.

Goldsmith was chosen by celebrity “lodger” Sharon Osbourne to be in the public vote, with Osbourne noting that Goldsmith didn’t feel himself in the house.

Meanwhile, Simon was nominated by her fellow housemates, with Kuzmin, Goldsmith, Bradley Riches, Colson Smith, Marisha Wallace and Zeze Millz all voting for her.

The new season is being hosted by AJ Odudu and Will Best, who also hosted last year’s regular season of Big Brother, the first since ITV rebooted the reality series.