SHE is a Scottish record-breaking athlete who has competed against some of the best sportswomen in the world at the Commonwealth and Olympic Games.
But Edinburgh hammer thrower Shirley Webb today spoke of her most unusual challenge yet – as one of the new stars of TV show Gladiators.
The 26-year-old, who is also a former Edinburgh University graduate and ballet dancer, will put on the iconic Lycra costume next month under the moniker of Battleaxe – one of 12 new gladiators chosen to battle against contestants on the Sky One show. She is set to follow in the footsteps of stars such as Jet, Hunter and Shadow, who became household names after appearing on the show in the mid-1990s.
Speaking to the Evening News for the first time after being announced as one of the new gladiators, Ms Webb, who recently quit her job with a sports management firm, said she was "very excited" and confessed she had been a huge fan of the show during its original run.
She said: "I can't wait to get started. I only found out I'd been picked for the show a couple of weeks ago and I've been dying to tell people about it but I had to keep it a secret.
"I was a big Gladiators fan in the 90s, so it's going to be a bit strange following in those guys' footsteps. We've been getting training from (referee and coach] John Anderson as well, who I remember seeing on the TV when the show was first on, so it's all still be bit unreal."
Shirley, who trains at Meadowbank and competed in the 2004 Olympics in Athens, is the second Gladiator to come from Edinburgh. She follows former star Siren, aka Ali Paton, who is now a property renovator.
Other new faces for the coming series will include Olympic medal-winning sprinter Du'aine Ledejo and Winter Olympic bobsledder Jenny Pacey. They will be called Predator and Enigma.
Shirley added: "They are all really lovely people and we've had a lot of fun over the past few weeks. We've been training and living together in London so we've become good friends now."
Shirley and her co-stars will spend the coming weeks filming the new series in London before she returns to the Capital to train for the coming athletics season.
She has given her support to the campaign to save the facilities at Meadowbank, where she will hone her hammer-throwing skills. She said: "It's a great facility that a lot of athletes have used over the years and have had great success at major tournaments.
"It's so sad and short-sighted that some of the stadium has been earmarked for housing. It really needs to be saved."
• The new series of Gladiators will be screened on Sky One on Saturday nights from early May.
www.skyone.co.uk/gladiators 