27 January 2024 , 18:10
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Iconic telly contest Gladiators has made a triumphant return to our screens, with the BBC One programme making a fresh new crop of superhuman stars. Among the 16 Gladiators this time around is Diamond, a 6ft tall bodybuilder called Livi Sheldon. "When I was growing up I used to get picked on for being taller than everyone else," she said. "Now I get to show everyone that being unique is your superpower."
Livi, 29, excelled at football as a child and went onto play for the Worcester City Ladies team. After a degree in sports science she took up bodybuilding, becoming a British Finalist in "England Toned Figure".
Diamond, from Worcestershire, can squat 120kg and recently opened up online about how training had changed her life. "When I first started training it was initially ‘to lose weight’ but later as I got more consistent I realised how much it was changing my body shape and I loved it," she wrote on Instagram. "The training was never the problem for me, I could train all day long, push myself, and never miss a session. It was the diet."
Diamond is a fearsome opponent for contenders on the show (ITV)Livi struggled for many years with emotional eating, turning to junk food like chocolate or pizza for comfort. "It’s taken many years for me to see food as fuel," she said.
Now Livi is Gladiator Diamond, described as "striking and indestructible" and she says her past experiences have made her the TV star she is today. She jokes she has been training for Duel, the iconic Gladiators game where a contender and Gladiator use pugil sticks to try and knock each other off platforms, since she was nine years old.
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"I feel like becoming a Gladiator is something I've been training for my whole life," she said. "From playing football when I was younger through to swimming and then going into bodybuilding.
Nine-year-old Livi with a "Duel" pugil stick"I feel like all of it has led me to this outcome of being a Gladiator. I do not think I would have had half the strength that I currently have if I hadn't had all of my past experiences."
The Chase presenter Bradley Walsh and his son Barney are hosting the 11-episode series, with contenders facing Gladiators who are Olympians and weightlifting champions as well as bodybuilders.
Watch Gladiators on Saturdays at 5.50pm, BBC One and BBC iPlayer