‘Take the opportunity’: A Welsh star’s message from ITV’s The Summit

Caitlin Thomas

“Take the opportunity.”

This is the message that Welsh star, Colleen O’Leary, would like the people of Wales to take away after seeing her in ITV’s The Summit.

At 48 years old, the former steelworker hopes to speak to those who are currently, or have in the past, faced challenges in their lives.

When Colleen, from Port Talbot, applied for the programme, both she and her wider community were facing a period of uncertainty. Anxiety had settled throughout the town, with everyone worried what the future held for them. Jobs were lost, and “everyone was worried. The knock-on effect, the ripple effect, it’s massive.”

After years of working a number of different careers, including a period at Tata Steel, Colleen found herself amongst those without work, having also sold her gym.

“I was in a very low place. Very low,” she said. “We didn’t know what we were going to do.”

It was during this time that a friend tagged her in a social media post that was advertising the show, and she took the opportunity to apply.

“It just snowballed from there,” she said.

With everything that was going on in her life at the time, Colleen felt that she had let down the important people in her life, and felt that this show was an opportunity to do something out of her comfort zone and find herself again.

She said: “I was in a place where I felt like I had let my family and my children down in the time of my life that I was in.

“And I thought – my town needs something now.”

‘The adventure of a lifetime’

The Summit, hosted by Ben Shepherd, brings together 14 people from across the UK attempting to climb a mountain in the New Zealand Alps in just 14 days.

When talking about the show, Ben Shepherd said that he had “never experienced anything like it as a TV show”, and described the experience as “the adventure of a lifetime.”

The contestants will face physical and strategic challenges whilst carrying the potential £200,000 prize to the summit.

But for Colleen, taking part in the show was not just about the cash prize. It was about giving people inspiration and encouragement about facing difficult challenges.

She said: “I’m a middle-aged woman from a small town. If I can do something like this – then I just want to give some people hope. And to give back to my town.”

Even though £200,000 would be a life-changing amount of money for anyone taking part in the show, Colleen felt that each individual had their own reasons for being there.

In the lead up to the show, Colleen was unable to share with her friends that she was embarking on the challenge. Outside of her close family, the experience had to be kept a secret.

“All my friends didn’t know,” she said.

Those that she trained with at her local gym, some of whom she had trained with for the best part of 16 years, were asking “where’s Colleen?”

So Colleen and her daughter came up with the back story that she had “gone to Thailand on a retreat.”

‘Petrified from the off’

As the climb drew nearer, Collen felt physically confident, but was concerned that the mental aspect would be the harder part of the challenge.

She said: “With me, I know my own capabilities, I know my own strengths.

“Physically I had no worries. But when things become a bit strategic, or you’re in an environment where you don’t know anyone – I do struggle there.”

“I was petrified from the off,” she continued, but explained that there was no going back.

When things did get tough, it was her children that got her through it, as well as her desire to prove to herself that she could do it.

“I needed to do as good as I possibly could – just for myself – to find myself again, because I had literally lost myself.”

With the contestants coming from all different walks of life, Colleen insisted that age was something that she was scared of.

“I’m not afraid to be in a competition with a 19 year old,” she said. “I don’t think age means a lot.”

She also strongly rejects the notion that people should view their lives in comparison with perceived fixed milestones.

She said: “I’m not a conventional woman. You don’t have to meet milestones at milestone times. You don’t have to have a job and a home by 25.

People develop in different ways – I am still developing now, and I am nearly 50.”

‘Just go for it’

This is the belief that underpins the message which she hopes will reach Welsh audiences after seeing her on the show.

“I love my community. I love Port Talbot and I love Wales,” she said. “We are strong people. The way that we support each other – I hope that comes across.”

Most of all, Colleen hopes to inspire those who doubt themselves or feel as though life opportunities have so far passed them by.

She said: “Even if you think to yourself, ‘oh, I can’t do something like that’, just take the opportunity.

Just go for it. You don’t know how your life is going to change.”

Reflecting on her time taking part in the show, Colleen speaks of the experience with pride.

“I am super proud of myself,” she said. “I’ve made loads of mistakes. I’m still making mistakes. But it’s about the ability to dust yourself off and carry on.”

And when asked if she would do something like this again, Colleen answered with a resounding “absolutely.”

The Summit starts Tuesday 10 February and Wednesday 11 February at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX.