08-04-2025
Actress's model mother died after overheating in Sports Direct sauna
A TV comedy actress's model mother died after overheating in a Sports Direct-owned sauna.
Milanka Brooks, 41, a star of Benidorm, is suing the Everlast gym chain owned by Sports Direct for up to £100,000 after her 75-year-old mother Mileva Brooks collapsed and later died.
The former model died from heatstroke three days after suffering breathing difficulties and collapsing in the Cheltenham-based gym's sauna on Aug 26, 2022, a coroner's inquest in September 2023 found.
Now Brooks, who has also starred in TV sitcoms The Windsors and My Family as well as satire Black Mirror, is suing the owner of the Everlast gym chain, Fitness Ltd, at London's High Court.
Mileva Brooks, who was her daughter's 'best friend in the world', had joined the gym six months earlier.
Roland Wooderson, assistant coroner for Gloucestershire, recorded a narrative verdict after an inquest in 2023, saying that the former model had 'died from the effects of heatstroke' after being 'found unresponsive in the sauna of the gym'.
He earlier heard medical evidence that Mileva's body temperature was 39.2C when it was measured by paramedics who attended the scene.
According to legal documents filed at London's High Court, Brooks is now suing the gym's owners, claiming 'damages in excess of £50,000, but limited to £100,000' in her role as administrator of her mum's estate for 'personal injury and consequential losses' under the Fatal Accidents Act 1976.
In online posts, the actress has spoken repeatedly of her and her mother's close relationship calling her 'the light and inspiration of my life', 'partner in crime' and 'best friend in the world'.
In 2020, Frasers Group, the Sports Direct parent company, bought a number of DW Sports Fitness locations out of administration and started the Everlast Gyms chain.
By late 2023, it had nearly 60 branches located across the UK.
The defence of Fitness Ltd was not available from the court at the time of writing.
The Telegraph has contacted Frasers Group for comment.
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