Gladiators 2023 first stars revealed: meet Fury and Steel

Gladiators 2023 logo
Our first superhumans have been announced! (Image credit: BBC)

Gladiators 2023 has revealed the first two superhumans who will be taking part in the popular reality competition series when it returns to our screens.

The iconic show is back and bigger than ever, with plenty of exciting things to look forward to when Gladiators 2023 kicks off later this year.

Fans have been waiting patiently for updates, and The One Show exclusively announced the first two superhuman gladiators on Wednesday, May 3. 

The first is Fury, with her name being inspired by her power and passion for competition. Her real name is Jodie Ounsley, she's a professional Exeter Chiefs Rugby Player, as well as a former England Women’s Rugby Seven’s player, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu British Champion, and five times World Coal Carrying champion.

Her father was a contender on the 2008 season of the show and she's keen to outdo him when she takes on the role.

Speaking about the opportunity, Jodie said: "Watching Gladiators growing up I was always in awe of their strength and power and now I am one!  I hope contenders are ready to feel the Fury.”

Meanwhile, the second superhuman is Steel, whose real name is Zack George. His gladiator name is inspired by his strength, as he won the title of the UK’s Fittest Man in 2020. As well as this, he's a CrossFit star and ranked number 26 out of a whopping 126,461 on the global CrossFit leaderboard.

Zack said: "I was inspired by the Gladiators as a child, but never imagined I’d be physically fit enough to be considered a ‘superhuman’!  I hope a new generation of fans will look up to me as their new strong, unbreakable hero, Steel."

It's been a big week for Gladiators 2023, as they have also announced the hosts of the upcoming series. The BBC has confirmed that Bradley Walsh and his son Barney would be taking on presenting duties for the new series.

In a statement, Bradley said: "Wow! I can’t believe that I’ve been asked to be part of this iconic show. I used to sit backstage, or in the audience, every week watching my wife be part of this juggernaut and now I get to co-host a new version of GLADIATORS!!! Saturday night family entertainment at its best...ARE YOU READY ?!“

Lucy Buglass
Senior Staff Writer

Lucy joined the WhatToWatch.com team in 2021, where she writes series guides for must-watch programmes, reviews and the latest TV news. Now she works for our sister site TechRadar in the same role. Originally from Northumberland, she graduated from Oxford Brookes University with a degree in Film Studies and moved to London to begin a career writing about entertainment.

She is a Rotten Tomatoes approved film critic and has a huge passion for cinema. She especially loves horror, thriller and anything crime-related. Her favourite TV programmes include Inside No 9, American Horror Story, Stranger Things and Black Mirror but she is also partial to a quiz show or a bit of Say Yes to the Dress