Gladiator star Steel reveals risky procedure contributed to premature son's death as doctors fought to save his life after being born at 23 weeks

Daily Mail​

08-08-2025

Gladiator star Steel has revealed a 'risky' procedure contributed to his premature son's death as doctors fought to save his life.
Steel, 34, - whose real name is Zack George - announced that Leo had been born prematurely at 23 weeks on March 26 but passed away on April 7, after being cared for in a neonatal intensive care unit.
In his first interview since, the TV personality detailed the tough decisions he and his wife Samantha had to make in the heartbreaking situation.
Speaking to The Mirror, the couple explained how Leo's survival statistics 'weren't great' but he 'was big and had a good heart rate' which gave them hope.
Zack explained: 'He came out and he was really strong. There was a honeymoon period where for the first day or two everything seemed to be going really well.
'So well, they decided to take him off the ventilator. He lasted about six hours on CPAP (a non-invasive form of breathing support), then they retubed him, which he stayed on.'
Unfortunately Leo began to get air pockets around his lungs which were 'getting bigger' leading doctors to believe it was caused by a tube that created a hole in his windpipe.
He added: 'It's no one's fault, a baby that young is really fragile, it's just a risk. That was really hard, because if it hadn't happened, he would probably still be here.'
Zack and his wife laid their baby son to rest at a funeral service in May and shared a selection of the floral arrangements that had been on display in a social media post.
The heartbreaking post also included a moving image of Leo's small white coffin, with his parents holding hands on top of it.
A month after Leo's death, the family held a funeral to say goodbye to their little boy and Zack revealed the speech he had read out at the service.
The speech read: 'The hardest speech I've ever had to read. 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. Your body was small, but your spirit was big, fierce and unafraid.
'We called you Leo, our lion, not for how loud you roared, but for how hard you fought to stay. You knew our voices, you knew our touch, the warmth of our hearts pressed against yours.'
He continued: 'You were held, you were known and you were loved. And though the world only had a brief chance to meet you, you changed it and You changed us.
'Now that you rest, we still carry you— in every quiet moment, in the breath between tears, in the space you filled just by being here. our son, our lion— you will always matter. You will always be ours. Rest easy our little boy.'
Last month, Zack opened up about what Leo had to endure during his 13 days fighting in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
In a heart-wrenching caption, he detailed the immense challenges Leo faced during his time in NICU, writing: 'What Leo had to endure during his 13 days fighting in NICU.
'Three blood transfusions, collapsed lung, a grade one and grade two bleed on his brain, a hole in his heart (PDA heart condition), a hole in his trachea causing air pockets in his lungs.'
Zack also announced the launch of a charity challenge in Leo's memory, called '13 days fighting'.