Gladiator's Steel's wife gives birth at 23 weeks as he says baby is 'strong'

star Steel updated fans on the birth of his second child after he was born 23 weeks premature. The TV star, whose real name is Zack George, told fans that his second child with wife Samantha was born early and is fighting for survival.

The news came after Zack, 34, posted a snap of his wife adorably cradling their newborn son, named Leo George. The picture showed Samantha wearing a hospital gown while holding the couple's second child, who was wearing a knitted blue hat.

In the emotional post, Zack revealed: "Our Precious Boy Leo George [heart emoji]. You should still be tucked up inside mummy’s tummy but instead you entered the on the 26th March 2025 at just 23 weeks weighing 1 pound 8 ounces."

He added: "You never truly know how quickly your life can be turned upside down but one thing we do know is that you are one hell of a strong boy and you are already defying the odds."

Ending the message, he continued: "Tiny, fragile and fighting." The athlete announced that he was to for the second time in January this year. The couple are already parents to a daughter named Ivy.

The news was shared with fans as their daughter held up pictures of the baby scan. The caption read: "Ivy is very excited to have a new friend very soon! Little George number 2 in the making!"

Zack had always been a fitness enthusiast before landing the role as Steel on the reboot of the gameshow. But Zack hadn't always been the ripped star that fans have come to adore.

As a child, he was overweight and bullied for his appearance. But as a fan of the original show, Zack used it as inspiration to embark on a lifestyle of fitness and healthy eating. In 2020 he achieved the title of the UK's fittest man.

In an interview with The last year, Zack revealed: "When I was younger, I used to be really overweight, extremely self-conscious, and didn’t like the way I looked. I just used to eat a lot of junk food. I used to have McDonald’s four or five times a week and KFC two or three times a week, plus a bag of Haribo each day after school."

It seems that a contributing factor was his mum's willingness to please him as her rainbow baby. His mum Jackie had suffered seven miscarriages following the birth of his sister. And by his own admission, he "couldn't do anything wrong", as he was her miracle baby.

He added: "My mum always wanted a really big family. She had my sister, who is 40, then she had seven miscarriages then me, finally. So in my mum’s eyes, it was like I couldn’t do anything wrong. I loved to eat and she never wanted to tell me I was overweight because I was like her golden child."

But on realising his weight was making him unhappy, his dad Dudley enticed him to lose weight by promising to buy him a 2.

He explained: "My dad sat me down. I’ll never forget it. He said, ‘I know you’re after a PlayStation 2, how about we sort your diet out a little bit and then if we get a good bit of weight loss over the next couple of months, we’ll get you one?' "

He continued: "Lo and behold, after two months, I dropped a bit of weight and got the PlayStation. I didn’t realise it then, but I was setting a goal, working towards it, getting a reward, and then feeling really good about myself."

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