by Staff reporter

Last updated 11:35, Friday, 09 May 2008

A WEST Cumbrian rugby player will be seen by millions of TV viewers doing battle in a new series of Gladiators.

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Undated handout image showing (back row, left-right) Nick

Daniel Sowerby, 29, of Main Street, Dearham, had to fight off competition from 20,000 contenders in the auditions for a chance to be on the show.

The Allerdale Council building control officer has already had his shot at glory and a bid for the £50,000 prize but has to remain tightlipped about how he got on until his programme is aired.

Daniel is one of 16 contestants appearing in the series, competing in events like Hang Tough, The Eliminator, Duel and Powerball.

He said he had been confident about his chances and had been preparing well.

He regularly does Thai boxing, fell running and downhill mountain biking and has played rugby league for Workington Town, Whitehaven Warriors and Seaton. He said: “I’m over the moon to be on the show. I watched Gladiators when I was a kid and thought I would like to do that.

“I wanted to see how I would cope against the other people on the show and test myself against some of the bigger guys. I wasn’t really scared by the gladiators. Having played rugby, it didn’t really bother me.

“The most intimidating gladiator was Destroyer who is 5 ft 11in but weighs over 17st.”

He decided to apply for the show when he was encouraged by his colleagues at Allerdale Council who had heard about the contest on the radio. He passed the auditions at the Scottish Sports Arena in Glasgow despite tearing a knee ligament while snowboarding in Austria, and made it through to the next auditions which were held in London. Daniel described himself as a good all-rounder but said he preferred the more aggressive events like Gauntlet, Powerball and Earthquake.

He soldiered on despite tearing the ligaments in his hand during a game called Hit and Run in which the gladiators try to knock the contenders off a suspension bridge with demolition balls.

He said: “The events are a lot harder than they look. People who sit back at home and say, that looks easy should try and get on the show and have a go themselves! It wasn’t glamorous by any stretch of the imagination. I had to put a lot of time and effort into the training.”

He cannot reveal how he did in the contest, but those who want to find out will have to wait until the show is aired. The series starts on Sky One, on Sunday.

Daniel was sponsored by Alan Moore at Intrim Fitness Centre, Murray Road Chamber in Workington and Ken Walker of Yankees Bar, Washington Street in Workington. Gladiators was last seen on TV in the 90s. New presenters Ian Wright and Kirsty Gallacher will be joined by original referee John Anderson.