A Bolton gym owner who was defeated in the BBC competition show Gladiators will be returning for the semi-finals.

Betti Worth, from Westhoughton, made it to the quarter-finals of the show after overcoming a 13.5-second time penalty to beat competitor Tuathlaith to move forward in the competition.

Crediting her father for reinvigorating her fitness journey, Betti said appearing on the programme was ‘surreal’ and that she now dreams of becoming a gladiator.

On Saturday’s episode (March 2), Betti was defeated after scoring no points in Duel after relying on her stick for balance.

She was up against West Fife star Kerry Wilson.

Speaking to The Bolton News, Betti said: “I got hit straight away on top of the head and there was no way of standing up.

“It’s only 30 seconds and it seems like it’s going to pass really quickly.

“You can’t physically stand up, I was just thinking: get up, get up, and my body wasn’t getting up.”

The Bolton News: Left to right: Betti's sister-in-law Rosie, brother Nathan, mother Susan, Betti, partner George, and friend Claire <em>(Image: Supplied)</em> Left to right: Betti's sister-in-law Rosie, brother Nathan, mother Susan, Betti, partner George, and friend ClaireLeft to right: Betti's sister-in-law Rosie, brother Nathan, mother Susan, Betti, partner George, and friend Claire <em>(Image: Supplied)</em> Left to right: Betti's sister-in-law Rosie, brother Nathan, mother Susan, Betti, partner George, and friend Claire (Image: Supplied)

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Betti revealed that she will now be appearing in the semi-finals as she was the fastest runner-up in the eliminator – a fact she found out when the producers called her to share the news.

The 32-year-old said: “It’s amazing – unreal really. You don’t expect it. It’s just the best feeling in the world.

“Me and Kerry are really close. We kind of knew going into the eliminator that she’s fast and I’m fast. We both knew it could go either way.

“We both knew to sprint as fast as we can, to absolutely nail it as fast as you can even if you’re losing.

“You can’t even speak straight. It’s just surreal. It doesn’t actually feel like you’re doing it in the moment, it’s like an out of body experience.”

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Betti said she has since had people come up to her while she is out and about sharing positive stories of their own fitness journeys.

She said: “I’m in my 30s and people are saying: ‘if Betti can do it, I can do it’.

“I’ve got people coming up to me. It took me five hours to get my shopping done and home the other day.

“People are constantly stopping me, all positive, saying ‘I want to do this now’ – yeah, you can. Even if they’re not local, all over the UK they’re looking for advice on how to do their first 5K.

“People looking for advice – that’s why I went on the show.”

If you have a story, I cover the whole borough of Bolton. Please get in touch at jack.fifield@newsquest.co.uk.