A curate in Durham Diocese has expressed her joy after excelling on BBC TV show Gladiators.
The Revd Rachael Phillips provided gripping television as she went head-to-head with the show’s elite athletes, during the first episode of the latest series, which aired on Saturday, 17 January.
The 39-year-old and her opponent Naomi, competed against each other and the Gladiators over several challenges which tested their speed, power, endurance and agility.
But in one of the closest finishes ever on the show, Rachael, who previously served in the British Army, narrowly lost out to Naomi in a dramatic finale which captivated viewers.
“I had such an amazing experience,” said Rachael, who also plays rugby and is an accomplished powerlifter. “I genuinely dreamed of being on the show when I was a child. I wanted to be fit enough to be on the show. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I would live that out.”
Rachael was a fraction of a second away from winning her heat and progressing to the next stage. Following the concluding Eliminator round, it required a photo finish to determine that it was Naomi, and not Rachael, who completed the gruelling Travelator obstacle.
There is a slim chance that our curate could progress as fastest runner-up, but Rachael is relaxed about what happens next.
She added: “For me to be able to go out in the heats, return to my family and to a degree, get on with normal life, but having had the experience of being on Gladiators – that’s a win for me.
“I lost to someone who was phenomenal and it was very close. The other contender Naomi is so fit, I wouldn’t want to lose to anyone but her. She was amazing and to lose by such a close margin is better than losing my a far greater margin.”
Ordained in the summer of 2022, Rachael is based in Greenside and Crawcrook, where she is serving her curacy, a three-to-four year training phase for newly-ordained clergy.
As part of her curacy, Rachael established Magdalene Community Church (MCC), a church plant based in Chopwell Woods, realising her long-standing dream of creating an outdoor worshipping community. As a curate, Rachel leads MCC under the authority of her training incumbent.
Image: Gladiators / BBC