Viper swiper
FIGHT LIKE A GIRL
BBC1, 7.30pm LIKE a comic book superhero, Kimberly Benson leads a double life.
By day, the softly spoken, selfdeprecating 26-year-old works with her mum and dad in the family coach hire business.
By night, she steps into the ring as Viper, one of the UK’s top female wrestlers. The transformation is astonishing. With big blow-dried hair, and head to toe in lycra, yelling trash talk, you can hardly believe it’s the same young lady.
“As soon as your music hits and you hear that roar from the crowd, it’s like a chemical reaction,” says Kimberly, who competes all over the world, travelling far from her home in Ayrshire.
Fascinated with wrestling as a child, she was introduced to the sport by a friend and fell in love with it. Although it’s hard to imagine why, watching the punishing bouts in the ring.
At one point we see Kimberly compete in Square Go! which sees 30 wrestlers of every size, shape and gender fight it out until the last man or woman is standing.
“These guys are giants,” says Kimberly, whose game plan is to literally throw herself at them. It works for a while until one bloke smashes a chair over her back. This is quite shocking to watch, perhaps because we are not used to seeing women in wrestling.
But it is also inspirational as Kimberly explains what she’s been through to get to the top – whether it’s battling homesickness, injuries or preconceptions from fans about her size.
She is hardcore and this fascinating film will certainly get you talking.