Following a controversial few months, Olympic gymnast Louis Smith has been revealed as the latest contestant to sign up for ‘The Jump’.
Since his appearance at the 2016 Olympic games in Rio over the summer, Louis’ public profile has taken something of a nosedive, after a video surfaced of him and friends at a party, making fun of Islam.
Last month, it was announced that he had been banned from his sport for two months as a consequence of the clip, but it would seem he’s now on the comeback trail, starting with an appearance on TV’s most dangerous reality show.
An insider told The Sun: “Louis makes sense as a signing for The Jump given his sporting background. He’s not exactly knocking back offers at the moment after the video of him and [retired gymnast, Luke Carson] pretending to pray while shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’.
Prior to making the headlines thanks to the offensive video, Louis had dropped strong hints that he would be taking part in this year’s ‘I’m A Celebrity’, though when the line-up was later revealed, he was not among the celebrity contestants.
Louis is no stranger to reality TV, having won ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ in 2012, as well as an oft-forgotten audition for ‘The X Factor’ back in 2008, when he was just 19.
He also served as a judge on the gymnastics-based reality show ‘Tumble’, eventually won by actor Bobby Lockwood.
Joining Louis on the next series of ‘The Jump’ are former ‘Big Brother’ champion Josie Gibson, ‘Made In Chelsea’ lothario Spencer Matthews and footballer Robbie Fowler.
Let’s hope they get on a little better than this year’s contestants, seven of whom were forced to pull out due to injuries sustained during their time on the show.
