Gladiator Jodie Ounsley looks back: ‘There weren’t many girls like me at school. I always liked bashing into people’

Jody Ounsley. Photograph: courtesy of Jodie Ounsley/Courtesy of Jodie Ounsley

Born in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, in 2001, Jodie Ounsley is an athlete, television personality and author. A former England rugby sevens player, she is the first deaf female rugby player for a senior England side. In 2024, she joined the BBC revival of the series Gladiators, in which she competes as Fury; the same year, she was one of the presenters for the 2024 Paralympics. Her second book, Strong Girls, co-written with Becky Grey, is out on 9 April.