BBC Gladiators star, 34, holds funeral for baby son after death at 13 days old as he makes heartbreaking speech
Gladiator star Steel has laid his baby son to rest at a funeral service following the tragic death of his newborn.
The TV star, whose real name is Zack George, and his wife Samantha held the service for their son Leo, who passed away at just 13 days old.
The 34-year-old shared moving images from the funeral on social media.
Leo was born prematurely at 23 weeks on March 26 but passed away on April 7, after being cared for in a neonatal intensive care unit.
A month after Leo’s death, the family held a funeral to say goodbye to their little boy. Zack and Samantha shared details of the service on social media, including the moving speech he delivered.
The heartbreaking post included an image of Leo’s small white coffin, with his parents holding hands on top of it.
The couple also shared a selection of the floral arrangements that had been on display at the service for their late son.
These touching tributes were shared with followers as the family said their final goodbyes to Leo.
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In his funeral speech, Zack described it as “the hardest speech I’ve ever had to read”.
He said: “You came into this world early, tiny and brave, with a heart that beat like thunder. Thirteen days. That’s all we had. But in that time, you taught us more about love, and courage, than most ever will.”
The grieving father called Leo “our lion” for “how hard you fought to stay”.
Zack later shared what Leo had endured during his brief life, including three blood transfusions and a collapsed lung. The newborn also suffered a grade one and grade two bleed on his brain, a hole in his heart, and a hole in his trachea, causing air pockets in his lungs.
Despite these challenges, Zack described his son as showing “bravery, strength, courage and resilience”.
Following his son’s passing, Zack announced the launch of a charity challenge in Leo’s memory, called “13 days fighting”. The initiative appears to honour the 13 days Leo spent battling for his life in the NICU.
Zack emphasised that his son had shown qualities including “bravery, strength, courage and resilience” during his short life.
Zack had initially shared in March that Samantha had gone into premature labour, with their son “fighting every day to survive”.
When announcing Leo’s passing, he wrote: “Your mummy brought you into this world and your daddy held you as you left.”
He added: “Although you were only with us for a short time, you brought us a lifetime of love.”
In January, Zack had announced that he and Samantha were expecting their second child. The bodybuilder shared a sweet post on Instagram alongside their daughter Ivy, who is two years old.
The little girl was pictured holding up the ultrasound scan, with Zack noting that she was “very excited” to be a big sister.