John Nellis has built a successful career interviewing some of the biggest names in football. Now, the Northern Irish content creator is stepping into an entirely different spotlight as a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing 2026.

Known for his entertaining videos featuring world-famous footballers, Nellis has quickly caught viewers’ attention on the BBC dance competition. After the first two weeks, he sits third on the leaderboard with a combined score of 54 points, impressing both the judges and the audience with his performances.

However, with the competition becoming increasingly intense and eliminations underway, Nellis will need to keep up his momentum. The first celebrity to leave the 2026 series was hair stylist Chris Appleton, raising the stakes for the remaining contestants.

So, who is John Nellis, and how did he go from working in aviation to becoming one of the UK’s biggest sports content creators?

Who Is John Nellis?

Age: 33

Job: YouTuber and content creator

Instagram: @johnnellis

Strictly Come Dancing partner: Katya Jones

John Nellis is one of the UK’s leading sports content creators, with a combined audience of more than 20 million followers across his platforms. His videos have accumulated billions of views and featured some of the biggest names in football, including Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé and Cristiano Ronaldo.

His success has also earned him industry recognition. In 2024, Nellis won Sport Creator of the Year at the TikTok Awards UK and Ireland, cementing his position as a prominent figure in online sports entertainment.

Yet his career took an unexpected turn just a few years ago, when he decided to leave a stable job in aviation to pursue content creation full-time.

From Air Traffic Controller to YouTube Star

Before becoming a full-time content creator, Nellis worked as an air traffic controller at Cork Airport in Ireland for eight years. In 2022, he made the bold decision to leave the profession and focus entirely on making videos.

The shift began during the COVID-19 pandemic, when reduced air traffic gave him more time to develop his hobby. With more opportunities to edit videos and brainstorm new ideas, his channel gradually gained momentum.

Speaking to BBC News NI in 2022, Nellis described the dramatic change in his working life as moving from a serious, stressful job into what he considered his dream career.

He also admitted that leaving aviation was a significant gamble. At the time, his YouTube channel had just 7,431 subscribers. Since then, his audience has grown to approximately 16 million subscribers, according to the figures reported in the original article.

Looking back, Nellis acknowledged how risky the decision had been, reflecting that he could hardly believe someone with such a small audience would walk away from a secure profession.

His story highlights how a pandemic-era hobby developed into a hugely successful career, opening doors to interviews and collaborations with some of football’s most recognizable stars.

Now, instead of asking sporting legends questions in front of a camera, Nellis is the one being watched as he takes on the demanding challenge of ballroom dancing.

With professional partner Katya Jones guiding him through the competition, the YouTuber has already made a promising start. The big question is whether his confidence in front of the camera will translate into enough skill on the dance floor to carry him further in Strictly Come Dancing 2026.

Source: Compiled from various sources.