Kim Betts

Kim Betts (née Williams; born 25 December 1971) is an English Gymnast, bodybuilder and TV presenter best known as Lightning in the ITV show Gladiators, where she was the longest serving female star.

Gymnastics

At six years old Betts took up gymnastics after she was accepted into Lichfield Olympic Gymnastic Club. Lightning had her first competitive event when she was eight years old. In her time as a gymnast she competed all over Great Britain as well as in Bulgaria, Belgium and Germany. Between the ages of 10 and 16 she trained with the British Squad and gained 32 medals.

Weight training

After gymnastics Betts took up weight training and competed four times in the Miss Figure Bodybuilding competition and came second in the British Championship Finals. She also won the Willenhall BB Show, Muscle Beach Open and the EFBB British Qualifier. Next came aerobics to help build up her stamina. She was a fitness instructor for eighteen months.

Gladiators

Lightning was known as one of the toughest and most determined of the UK Gladiators. Known as the 'Queen of Hang Tough', she remained undefeated in the UK Arena and was only ever beaten once, during filming of the first Ashes series in Australia. That loss happened on the first heat of the first Ashes against Australia's Kerry Warman who slid past Lightning and defeated her. Betts gave birth to a baby boy called Lexus just three weeks before competing in the Gladiators arena for the 1999 series.