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John Nellis was born on June 18, 1993, in Newcastle, County Down, and went to Shimna Integrated College, where his first job was raking bunkers at Royal County Down Golf Club, according to Wikipedia. He later worked as a kitchen porter, barman, ice cream server, pizza maker, science technician and social worker, and from 2014 as an air traffic controller at Cork Airport. Watching the 2002 World Cup made him fall for football.
He started his YouTube channel in 2019 and, in 2022, left air traffic control after eight years to create content full time. He has a tattoo of 7,431, his subscriber count on the day he left. His channel took off during the 2022 World Cup, and he now has more than 16 million YouTube subscribers and 2 million TikTok followers. His videos have featured Kylian Mbappé, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland. In December 2024 he won Sports Creator of the Year at the TikTok Awards UK & Ireland.
He married Shannon McMahon in June 2025, and in May 2026 he played for England in the Sidemen Eleven All Stars match against France.
"I'm a little nervous as I've never danced before!" he said on joining Strictly. He is paired with Katya Jones, and they scored 29 in Icons Week. Follow along in Strictly Come Dancing 2026: who's left and how to vote.
Sources: Wikipedia
Our newest John Nellis story, from October 19, 2026, is "Strictly Come Dancing 2026: Who's Left, How to Vote, and the Returning Star Who Topped Week 3": Twelve couples are still chasing the Glitterball, the show is back on BBC One on Saturday, Oct. 24, and one early front-runner is returning after an injury bye. Here's your complete guide.
He was an air traffic controller at Cork Airport for eight years (Wikipedia).
Katya Jones (our Strictly guide).
It was his YouTube subscriber count on the day he quit his job (Wikipedia).
