In the original 1992 series, female Gladiators were kitted out in skimpy crop tops and pants, but the latest reboot of the series, which airs on the BBC on Saturday evening, has women wearing sports bras and shorts that highlight their athletic and powerful physiques.
“Other female Gladiators might be really feminine from a different sporting background, but I really wanted to be myself and wear what I was comfortable in – a typical sports bra and shorts, similar to what I wear as part of my rugby kit,” says Ounsley, whose appearance on the show reflects the growing commercial opportunities for today’s generation of professional women’s rugby players.
As someone who thrives on physicality, Ounsley relished every second of the experience, filmed over a six-week period at Sheffield’s Utilita Arena.
“The trials were savage,” she says. “There were people from all different sporting backgrounds doing physical, demanding tests. It was about finding the best personality that stood out, who was physically strong and powerful. All these elements came together and I got the opportunity, which was crazy and surreal.”
Former coal-carrying champion has legion of TikTok followers
Ounsley, who hails from a fitness-crazed family in Wakefield in West Yorkshire – she has followed her father in becoming a coal-carrying world champion – has spent much of her rugby life tackling stereotypes around deafness and now relays that to her impressive legion of TikTok followers.
For rugby, she relies on hand signals to understand the correct calls on the pitch along with lip reading and when she arrived on set for filming last summer, she was completely taken aback.