Fury Gladiators: Hundreds of people queue outside Yorkshire bookshop to meet Jodie Ounsley

Jodie Ounsley, who is better known as Fury from the rebooted Gladiators series, was at Truman Books in Pudsey on Thursday afternoon to sign copies of her book.

Owners of the bookshop posted images on social media of people queueing down the street while waiting to meet the former rugby star.

Ounsley, who is 24-years-old and originally from Dewsbury, was the first deaf player to represent a senior England team but stepped away from rugby last year.

She has since appeared in Gladiators and has also written her first book - alongside her co-writer Becky Grey - called Keep Smashing It.

Apart from playing for England sevens and Exeter Chiefs, the Yorkshire-born star also enjoyed spells at Loughborough Lightning and Sale Sharks.

Ounsley, who is also a former British Brazilian jiu-jitsu champion, has already become an inspiration for many people in the deaf community, and was met by excited children at the bookshop on Thursday (Apr 3).

A statement from the bookshop, posted on Facebook, said: “What an amazing afternoon we had yesterday! Over 200 of you queued very patiently to meet the amazing Jodie Ounsley aka Fury along with her co-writer Becky Grey who were signing copies of their new book Keep Smashing It.

“We particularly enjoyed seeing normally chatty kids absolutely awestruck, and loved the kids with cochlear implants comparing stickers with Jodie.

“Special mention to our friends at Home Economy for dishing out sweets to the kids in the queue.”