Gladiators star Dynamite is, in her own words, “small but mighty” and is back in the arena taking on contenders for series two.
She’s the youngest star of the BBC One show, which makes her status as a new generation Gladiator even more impressive.
Here’s all you need to know about how Dynamite became a part of the prestigious cast and what her life is like away from TV.
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Who is Dynamite?
Dynamite’s real name is Emily Steel, and she became the new series youngest Gladiator at just 21 years old.
If you’re wondering how it’s possible to get into the arena at such a young age, the answer is that Steel has been taking her sport seriously for many years already.
She was a national-level swimmer until she was 15 and studied sport and exercise at Loughborough University.
After graduating, Steel became a full-time CrossFit athlete and is also a weightlifter who has broken records for her age group.
Her CrossFit and weightlifting competitions have taken her around the world, but outside of her sporting and TV stardom, she’s still living the normal life of a 21-year-old. In July, Steel celebrated her university graduation and over the summer she took a trip to Ibiza with co-star Sabre.
Why did Dynamite want to be a Gladiator?
Dynamite is 5ft 5in which is small in Gladiators terms, but she doesn’t see her age and size as something to hold her back – in fact, it’s what made her want to be in the BBC reboot.
She said: “As a young athlete I felt like it was an opportunity to inspire young girls and make them think, ‘oh, I can go to the gym, I can train and be just as strong’. I’ve done sport all my life, so I felt like it was giving me an opportunity to showcase my sporting talents and hopefully inspire others, too.”
Talking about her Gladiators alter ego, she added: “Dynamite is small but mighty. She’s the one that might be underestimated, because she doesn’t look very scary and is naturally quite shy, but don’t let that fool you, when she’s in a game, she’s going to win.”
However, when your co-stars are routinely over 6ft, it’s bound to be a little daunting.
Dynamite said: “Diamond could just pick me up and throw me onto the floor like it’s no problem and that’s scary. Then with Sabre, even though we’re nearly the same size, I feel like she’s got a very similar mindset to me. We both have that competitive mindset where we don’t want to lose, so that would be a scrap and a half. Luckily, I don’t have to fight them so it’s fine!”
Gladiators continues on BBC One at 5:50pm on Saturdays.
