Sport has played a vital part in my life from a young age both mentally and physically.
At the age of fifteen I broke two Scottish National swimming records. It was at this point I knew I wanted to coach swimming, to give back to the sport that had helped me gain so much self-confidence and self-belief.
At the age of 18 I assumed the role of chief coach at Thirsk Swimming Club, in doing so I became the youngest coach in the country. Then in 2004 I went on to win the prestigious ‘club coach of the year’ award. At this time I was also studying for my A-Levels and working at a centre for adults with learning difficulties. In 2005 I moved to Sheffield to study Occupational Therapy (specialising in Mental Health) at Sheffield Hallam University, where my swimming training and coaching continued. Prior to my retirement from the world of competitive swimming I qualified for the Commonwealth Games trials. After graduating, I competed on the SKY 1 TV show Gladiators, beating 10,000 contestants to reach the final. During the semi-final stage, I was waiting for a scene to be filmed with Ian Wright when he told me to read Caroline Flack’s autocue. After doing this he gave me some advice, I should go into presenting. The rest, as they say, is history!