Gladiator Fury on Strictly Come Dancing: 'I'll dance my heart out for Dad' says Dewsbury TV star after heartbreaking loss
Dewsbury’s Jodie Ounsley – Gladiator Fury – says she will take part in this year’s Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special despite a shock bereavement.
The TV star announced last week that her much-loved father Phil Ounsley had died suddenly while walking up Pen-y-ghent.
But she has pledged to continue with the festive show and says she will “dance my heart out for Dad”.
"I wanted to address the questions about my involvement in the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special,” she posted on her social media accounts.
"Over the last few weeks, I’ve been in rehearsals and training. However, as some of you know, my dad suddenly passed away over the weekend, which came as a complete shock.
"For context, he was absolutely over the moon about me taking part. He had never seen me dance before, so the idea of watching me on the show and seeing me push myself in a new way made him incredibly proud and excited.
"He was the kind of person who would have been devastated if he thought I’d step away from this opportunity because of what’s happened.
"Since then, my mum has encouraged me to carry on, and honestly, I think she’s right. It feels like exactly what I need right now—something to focus on and somewhere to channel my emotions.”
“I’ve never danced before, but one thing I promise is that I’ll dance my heart out out there…for Dad.”
The rugby star from Dewsbury will be dancing in the Strictly Christmas ballroom alongside her professional dance partner Neil Jones.
Jodie is a rugby player, athlete, broadcaster, and advocate for the deaf community, and has been breaking boundaries from the very start.
Profoundly deaf from infancy, she received a cochlear implant as a child, becoming one of the youngest people in the UK to undergo the procedure.
Jodie’s rugby career has seen her play professionally for Loughborough Lightning, Sale Sharks Women, and Exeter Chiefs Women, before announcing her retirement in April 2024.
In 2019, she made sporting history as the first deaf female to play for a senior England rugby side, and the world’s first deaf female international rugby sevens player.
Away from rugby, Jodie is a British Brazilian jiu-jitsu champion and multiple-time World Coal Carrying Champion – a discipline which earned her a Guinness World Record this year, for completing the fastest 50m sprint while carrying a 20kg coal bag.
Jodie has also turned her talents to broadcasting, working as an interviewer for the BBC at the Women’s 2024 Rugby World Cup, as well as on Channel 4’s coverage of last year's Paralympic Games.
She is also a published author, having co-written two books with Becky Grey.
In 2024, Jodie joined the rebooted BBC series Gladiators as ‘Fury’ and quickly became a fan favourite.
This year’s Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special will see six couples battle it out under the glitterball to be crowned the Strictly Christmas Champion.
Jodie joins the previously announced Scarlett Moffatt and Melanie Blatt in Strictly’s festive line-up.
The Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer this Christmas.