COUNCIL OF WAR

By Safira Ali

Last updated 11:39, Friday, 16 May 2008

A WEST Cumbrian rugby player goes head to head with Gladiators this weekend.

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TV: Daniel Sowerby

Daniel Sowerby, 29, of Main Street, Dearham, will be competing in Hang Tough, The Eliminator, Duel and Powerball on TV on Sunday.

He fought off competition from 20,000 contenders in the auditions for a chance to be on the Sky One show.

Daniel, an Allerdale Council building control officer, was one of 16 contestants appearing in the series and competing for the £50,000 prize.

Although he has already filmed the show he is remaining tight lipped about the results until the show is aired this weekend.

He said he had prepared for the show by doing Thai boxing, fell running and downhill mountain biking. He had also played rugby league with Workington Town, Whitehaven Warriors and Seaton.

He applied for the show after he was encouraged by colleagues at Allerdale Council who had heard about the contest on the radio. Despite tearing a knee ligament he passed auditions in Glasgow and made it through to the next round of auditions in London.

Daniel said he preferred the more aggressive events like Gauntlet, Powerball and Earthquake.

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.”