Gladiator Fire's life off-camera includes Winter and Summer Olympics

27 January 2024 , 18:15

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Gladiator Fire has a sprinting and bobsleigh background  (Image: PA)

Gladiators is back and there are 16 new strong men and women contenders have to face. Few are faster than Fire - the 37-year-old can run 100 metres in an incredible 11.05 seconds, making her a former British record holder. Montell Douglas competed at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in sprinting before making the switch to a winter sports discipline.

In 2017 Montell became part of the Team GB two-woman bobsleigh team and went onto compete at the Winter Olympics in Beijing in 2022. Now, Gladiators has come calling and the athlete describes her alter ego as a "firecracker".

"She is a bundle of laughs and fierceness," said the athlete, who describes herself as a "sports fanatic". "She's playful and fun but does not hold back or take any prisoners. She will not go easy on you, but has lots of compassion."

Fire describes her Gladiators crew as a "massive family"

The athlete would least like to take on fellow Gladiator Fury (Getty Images for National Lottery)

Competitive Montell describes Fire as a "weapon" in the arena. "She is a crowd pleaser and loves the interaction with the audience and experience of Gladiators," she said.

The 5ft 10ins tall star says Fury, professional rugby player Jodie Ounsley, is the Gladiator she wouldn't like to face. "She's used to contact sports and if she went through Gauntlet or Powerball I'd be scared about holding her back," she said. But there's one Gladiator the sprinter isn't scared of at all. "I could take on any of the guy Gladiators, especially Legend, I could take him down easily," she laughed.

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As a child, the sprinter was inspired by the original Gladiator women (@montytrackstar/Instagram)

Montell was a fan of the original female Gladiators, who appeared on the show back in the 1990s and she hopes to inspire future female sportswomen in the same way. "Being a female athlete, Gladiators has always been a platform for women that look a certain way physically but they can be who they are and inspire young girls like me," she said.

"We are like a massive family and a big team," added the sprinter of her 16-strong Gladiators crew. "We have each other's backs and going through the same experience together. Being a Gladiator is no small feat, it is something you have inside of you. I love that we can lean into each other if we have had a tough day."

Watch Gladiators on Saturdays at 5.50pm, BBC One and BBC iPlayer

Vikki White