A Sheffield firefighter made it through to the semi-final of Gladiators with barely a second to spare on Saturday following a tense head-to-head.
Bronte Jones, 23, battled it out with Natasha Lawrence from Ipswich to cement her place in the semi-final of the popular TV game show.
Jones’ twin sister Brodie said the family are “buzzing” that she’s made it through, having grown up watching the show.
She told the Sheffield Wire: “That eliminator was a rollercoaster – from her falling off the cargo net, to then catching Tasha up to make it through the finish line.
“Watching it brought back all those amazing memories from the filming back in June. The atmosphere was electric!”
The Gladiators reboot has taken the nation by storm since it appeared on our screens back in January, with 8.7 million viewers tuning in to the first episode.
Viewers “were on the edge of their seats” on Saturday as Bronte regained her composure after a disappointing performance in the duel and went on to gather 10 points in the ring and gauntlet rounds.
“I couldn’t even eat my popcorn,” said 41-year-old Stacey Wolstenholme, who manages Firehouse Fitness, the Sheffield gym where Bronte trains.
“She’s very hardworking. She’s very focused. She’s so bright and bubbly but once she’s in the gym, she’s in the zone,” she added.
Though the show’s final has already been filmed, Jones is staying tight-lipped about the outcome.
Her Gladiators success comes in the same week as a disappointing end for Doncaster contestant Finley Burkitt, who was forced to pull out of the quarter-finals following a “devastating” knee injury.
Burkitt has since had surgery and, according to his personal trainer Sam Long, is already back to “doing things you wouldn’t really expect someone who’s ruptured their ACL to be able to do”.
He said: “I think once he sets his mind to whatever he wants to do, he’s willing to give it a very good go or die trying in the process.”
Jones, a competitive weight lifter who has been named one of the strongest women in the country for her weight category, will now carry the Gladiators gauntlet for South Yorkshire alone.
Despite initially being “a bit worried that nobody would understand her strong Yorkshire accent”, Wolstenholme says the whole of Sheffield is behind her.
“She managed to give the gladiators a run for their money!” added Brodie.
Gladiators airs Saturdays at 7.10pm on BBC One
