Nikita Kuzmin is doing brilliantly on the latest season of Strictly, regularly wowing the judges and public with his dances with partner Ellie Simmonds.
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Though Nikita looks the picture of health, behind the scenes the 24-year-old lives with type 1 diabetes, a chronic disease that needs to be monitored every day to ensure the dancer stays well.
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Eagle-eyed viewers will have noticed that Nikita has a little white patch on the back of his arm. This is a Libre Sensor, which monitors his blood sugar levels, and takes the place of the traditional fingertip prick method many diabetics will be familiar with.
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When Nikita’s monitor has been on show, be it on TV or in shirtless snaps on Instagram, the dancer’s fans have been quick to praise, commenting: “Thank you for getting people talking about T1D2,” and: “Proudly showing off your Libre Sensor. Love it.”
Ukranian-born Nikita was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes as a child, and is likely to have contended with symptoms such as unexplained weight loss, extreme tiredness, blurred vision and cuts and grazes that take a long time to heal.
Nikita’s diabetes monitor can be seen on his upper arm
As well as taking glucose readings, the sensor will also alert if their glucose readings are too high or too low. It needs to be changed every 14 days, with wearers saying the application of the monitor is less painful than the traditional finger prick.
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Nikita has not spoken about his diabetes publicly, however in January 2022 he set about raising money for a charity that supports the disease.
Fans praise Nikita when he shows his diabetes monitor
After testing positive for Covid and having to isolate, the dancer live streamed from his hotel room in honour of Diabetes UK, raising over £1,300 for the charity.
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