Montell Douglas is struggling to dance in high heels on Strictly Come Dancing.

The Olympian, 38, is currently taking part in the BBC Latin and ballroom competition with professional partner Johannes Radebe.

But she admitted that the ‘hardest part’ about the whole thing is not the dancing itself, it is having to navigate the floor in high heels.

She told The Mirror: ‘So the hardest thing is not the routine – it’s the shoes.  It’s doing it in a shoe that wants to break your foot. The shoe is designed to give you pain, which she does very well actually.’

The Gladiators star admitted that she is just ‘not used’ to wearing tall shoes and the whole thing feels like having to wear heels for the whole of a night out.

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Montell Douglas is struggling to dance in high heels on Strictly Come Dancing and says it is the ‘hardest thing’ about the competition so far

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The Olympian, 38, is currently taking part in the BBC Latin and ballroom competition with professional partner Johannes Radebe (pictured)

Montell is determined to embrace all the challenges in front of her even though she thinks she has so far appeared ‘unrecognisable’ in the first few rounds of the show.

She said: ‘The only way to do it is really immerse yourself because you get to only do it once, so you might as well go hard or go home.

‘The first week I’m in a ball gown and looking very different. The next is a carnival samba thing. I’m unrecognisable’

The TV star held the British women’s record for fastest 100m sprint at 11.05 seconds but insisted that her athletic background is not an advantage.

She noted that in her days on the track, it came as a ‘real reality shock’ to her when she found she was able to train for the spiriting easily but struggled to simply walk.

But one person who is always there for Montell throughout her Strictly journey is her professional partner Johannes.

The South African dance champion has been a ‘complete gentleman’ to the sports star since she signed up for the programme.

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But one person who is always there for Montell throughout her Strictly journey is her professional partner Johannes

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The ‘friendship is blossoming’ between the pair, and Montell explained how Johannes is boosting her confidence

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She is hoping that by ‘crawling into the spotlight’ she will be able to built character for herself, and will tango to One Night Only during Movies Night on Saturday

The ‘friendship is blossoming’ between the pair, and Montell explained how Johannes is boosting her confidence.

She is hoping that by ‘crawling into the spotlight’ she will be able to built character for herself, and will tango to One Night Only during Movies Night on Saturday.

The classic track is part of the Broadway musical Dreamgirls, and was first heard when the show opened in 1981.

The song was propelled to further global recognition by Jennifer Hudson in 2006 when she starred alongside Beyoncé in the film adaptation.