Scots Gladiator Sabre credits her mum for giving her the resilience and strength to shine on hit TV show

dailyrecord.co.uk:

GLADIATORS star Sheli McCoy has revealed she gets her strength, resilience and warrior spirit from her army sergeant mum, who raised her and her brother alone after their dad was killed in a car accident.The 35-year-old Scot, known to fans as Sabre, says taking part in the reboot of the hit BBC show is her way of giving something back to Kaz, 66, who is her ‘hero, inspiration and best friend.’Weightlifting champion Sheli, who was only three-and-a-half when her dad Sean passed away, says her mum is a real- life Gladiator who has empowered her to be the best she can be.The fan favourite, who lives in Dundee, said: “My mum and dad were both sergeants in the Army.

Mum was Royal Signals and my dad was Scots Guards so I come from warrior stock.“Dad passed away when I was very little and ever since then mum has been my mum, my dad, my best friend, my influence, my role model and my inspiration.“Becoming a Gladiator was a really great way for me to give her something back.

She did a brilliant job raising me and my brother and this is testament to that. She showed me just how resilient women can be.“I used to watch all the Gladiators re-runs with my mum when I was wee as it was her favourite show so she is beside herself every week seeing me on the TV.

Sitting on the sofa watching her watching me is just amazing.”Sheli hopes her dad would be proud of her too and says losing him when she was so young gave her the drive and determination to keep fighting to achieve her dreams.The sports rehabilitation therapist, who was born in Windsor, said: “I think and hope my dad would be really proud of me being a Gladiator as he was big into sport and athleticism.