Since the London 2012 Olympics have begun, a whole new set of 'celebrities' have emerged. In what may come as a giant relief to people suffering with TOWIE-fatigue, it seems we are no longer are we talking about their latest intrigues, nor are we seemingly THAT bothered about the demise of the Twilight romance.
Instead, in Britain, we are screaming at our televisions, frantically searching for Games tickets and sharing stories of our Team GB athletes' incredible achievements.
The Olympics are making great viewing and with that, new stars are emerging.
Many members of the GB Team are privately educated with stable, supportive families providing them with all the resources and deep pockets they need to become world champions.
But the ones that audiences have taken most to their hearts are, arguably, those stand-out individuals who have overcome huge personal obstacles, challenges and 'hurdles' to get to the Games.
Here are just some of the incredible people performing on behalf of Great Britain at the London Olympics who deserve their very own
Chariots Of Fire or
Billy Elliot-style biopic, along with some of the screen names best-placed to play them...
Athlete: Tom Daley
Actor: Penn Badgley or Zac Efron
Genre: Coming of age drama
Tom Daley's boyish good looks and tiny trunks are spoken about almost as much as his fantastic diving. Everyone is rooting for the superstar of Team GB, who has a fan following beyond almost any other athlete in the squad.
It's the 18-year-old's second Olympic appearance, having competed in Beijing four years ago. But this time there is a big difference, with Daley having to work through tragedy after his father Robert died of a brain tumour at the age of 40 in May last year.
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The boy wonder has grown up in the unforgiving public glare, been bullied at school - and now on Twitter - criticised for supposed under-achievement and not working hard enough and he has endured it all with grace and dignity.
Athlete: Mary King
Actress: Emma Thompson or Lindsay Duncan
Genre: Thriller (a bit like 127 Hours)
Horseriding Mary King, a 51-year-old ex-chalet girl and the oldest member of Team GB, has just bagged a silver medal after four exhausting days during which her brilliant performance made a gold seem within snatching distance.
Eleven years ago she lay in a field, alone and with a broken neck.
![mary king]()
A horse she was training had bucked her off and as she lay in that field she realised something was very wrong.
"I had complete body movement and went to get up but I couldn’t. I couldn’t lift my head off the ground,” she told The Express.
She managed to walk the quarter-mile to the stables but in hospital her broken neck was misdiagnosed as whiplash. Three days later and back on a horse she felt as if her head was loose. It was only then that a consultant confirmed the break.
Athlete: Bradley Wiggins
Actor: Rhys Ifans, at a push Paul Weller
Genre: Road movie
Adding to his recent Tour de France victory, Wiggins and his famous sideburns stormed through the streets to victory in the men's Olympic time trial this week. Scoring his seventh Olympic medal, Wiggins has become Britain's most decorated Olympian ever, overtaking Sir Steve Redgrave's previous record (with Sir Chris Hoy now beating him on golds).
If these remarkable achievements in the past two weeks aren't enough to warrant a film, a glimpse back at his life story reveals the pain he has overcome...
![bradley wiggins]()
Wiggins went to a Church of England school in Kilburn, which does not count a velodrome among its PE facilities. Like many children in London, he had to trek across the capital to train. But what is most heartbreaking is the story of his relationship with his father.
His father, Gary, an Australian who made a living as a cyclist on the European tour, had already abandoned one young family in Australia when he walked out on his second wife and his son, Bradley, then aged two.
His father only got back in touch after a 20-year-old Bradley won a bronze medal at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. He persuaded him to come to the cycling club where he hung out; he wanted to show off his son and enter him in a race. But when Bradley, tired from the Olympics, failed to perform, Gary accused him of being a failure and they never spoke again. When Gary died in mysterious circumstances in a New South Wales street at the age of 55 in 2008, Bradley stayed away from the funeral.
Athlete: Victoria Pendleton
Actress: Rachel Weisz or Kate Beckinsale
Genre: Romance
There are high hopes for cycling's golden girl Victoria Pendleton at the London 2012 Olympics but sprint times are not the only pressure the poster girl has had to contend with in the lead-up to the Games.
Pendleton made the troublesome error of falling in love, at a time when her coaches wanted her mind only on training. Plus... it's an unwritten rule in professional sport that coaches do not become involved with their athletes because of the risk it will undermine team spirit. The man she fell for? Her coach Scott Gardner.
![victoria pendleton]()
Pendleton has described how, when clutching the coveted gold medal at the 2008 Games, all she felt was numbness, as her squad had just reacted angrily to the news of their affair.
Gardner, an Australian sports scientist, had to switch to the Team GB swimming team and Pendleton spent years isolated from her fellow cyclists who made plain their sense of betrayal. In a recent BBC documentary she said: "‘Everyone was so angry that Scott and I had fallen in love. It was so unprofessional – we were a disgrace and had betrayed everybody."
The pair are now engaged and Pendleton is once again at one with her squad with Gardner also back in their good books - like all good romances, a fairytale ending could well be in sight.
Athlete: Gemma Gibbons
Actress: Kate Winslet or Michelle Williams
Genre: Gritty British drama
Unlike many athletes at the Games, Gibbons' parents were not in the stands to watch her succeed as she exceeded all expectations by securing a judo silver medal for Great Britain this week.
Her father walked out before she was born, and when she was 17, her mother - who had brought her up as a single parent in a council flat, taking her to her first judo class at the age of six - died of leukaemia.
![gemma gibbons]()
Gibbons was left to fend for herself, and had to take on a part-time job to pay the rent. She has revealed how the chance to compete at a home Games in her native city spurred her on to continue in the sport that she loved and reach elite level.
The happy ending? Britain’s first Olympic judo medal since the Sydney Games 12 years ago and a big congratulations by David Cameron.
The 25-year-old Londoner, overcome by emotion, knelt on the floor and held her face in her hands, before dedicating her victory to her mother. She mouthed to the heavens: “I love you mum," as the nation looked on proudly.
