Mary Earps says she’d play a gladiator in Ridley Scott’s sequel

This is the moment Mary Earps said she would give playing a gladiator ‘a go’ in Sir Ridley Scott’s upcoming sequel. 

The Lionness was today honoured by Prince William at Windsor Castle for her services to association football. 

The football star was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire as she joined VIPs including Gladiator director Sir Ridley. 

When posing for photographs with her honour outside the castle, Earps was asked if she would consider acting in Sir Ridley’s upcoming film. 

‘A gladiator? Oh I don’t know, I don’t know if I can act, I don’t know if I’ve got it in the locker but I’m willing to give most things a go,’ joked Earps. 

‘There’s still so much I want to do in football, that’s all I think about really, so very fortunate to pick this up today.’ 

She added: ‘An incredible couple of years but there’s so much more I want to do. I think it’s a weird thing in life – you get to these places that you can never imagine and then all you can think about is all the other things you want to achieve. But I know that I’m very lucky and very grateful.’ 

Earps said this weekend’s Women’s FA Cup final will be the ‘highlight’ of her football season, adding: ‘Bring it on.’

She said: ‘I’m very prepared for it, very up for it and really looking forward to it. It’s only a few days away so bring it on.

‘It’ll be the highlight of the season, for sure, by a million miles.’

Earps was a key part of the Lionesses side which reached the Women’s 2023 World Cup final, winning Fifa’s Golden Glove award for the best goalkeeper at the tournament, and was also part of the team that won the Euros in 2022.

Earps said she believed it would be ‘tough’ for the Lionesses to retain the Women’s Euros title in 2025.

‘I think you can see from the World Cup and even the Euros when we won it in 2022, the competition gets tougher every single year,’ she said.

‘But I think we’ve got a fantastic team and I have every belief in the quality of the girls individually and collectively even more.

‘So, I think if we prepare right and go through what we need to do in terms of our preparation to make sure we’re performing at the highest level possible, I have every confidence that we will be there again – we’ve got to earn it though.’

Earps was crowned BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2023, and also drew praise after she spoke out about sportswear manufacturer Nike’s failure to offer an England goalkeeper’s replica jersey for sale before the World Cup – which later sold out in minutes.

More than 150,000 people signed a Change.org petition which called on Nike to release the shirt.

Speaking about her newfound popularity, she said: ‘I just think that it’s amazing when people want to have a conversation with you and talk about their experience of something that I’ve done, helped them with or inspired in some way.

‘But us, as a group of Lionesses, what we stand for – our values – I think is so strong that it resonates with people. That’s a pretty incredible feeling and something that we’ll continue to try and do as a team.’

Earps wore an all-white outfit and matching fascinator hat as she accepted her honour at the castle. 

She was photographed beaming and laughing with Prince William before posing outside with her honour. 

Sir Ridley was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire, with photographs showing him proudly receiving his medal from the senior royal. 

Meanwhile, Shilton was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in recognition of his services to association football and to the prevention of gambling harm. 

Prince William is set to take a two-day visit to his Duchy of Cornwall on Thursday and Friday – marking the first time he will have stayed away overnight since his wife Catherine received her cancer diagnosis. 

He has been at her side and doing the school runs, with his diary modified accordingly. 

William’s willingness to have a night away from his wife has sparked hopes that the Princess of Wales might be on the mend. 

Meanwhile, Prince Harry arrived in the UK alone yesterday after flying in from California for a ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games in London today. 

Prince Harry will not meet his father King Charles during his trip to Britain because of the monarch’s ‘full programme’, but insisted that he ‘hopes to see him soon’.

The Prince had hoped to meet his estranged father the King during his trip, which follows a previous quick visit in February after Charles’s cancer diagnosis. And Harry’s event was just three miles away from where Charles was at Clarence House.

But Harry’s spokesman said yesterday: ‘In response to the many inquiries and continued speculation on whether or not The Duke will meet with his father while in the UK this week, it unfortunately will not be possible due to His Majesty’s full programme.

‘The Duke of course is understanding of his father’s diary of commitments and various other priorities and hopes to see him soon.’