As families across the UK prepare for the return of popular tea game show Gladiators, former finalists Wesley Male and Blunt Jones reveal their success in the action-packed competition Showing up is a life-changing experience.

When the opening bars of Gladiator's hard-rock theme song herald the start of season two, you might forgive Wesley for being slightly fatigued.

"My friends still play the theme song every time I walk into a room," laughs the 37-year-old, who juggles his job as a civil servant with professional wrestling on the weekends.

"You know what? It's annoying sometimes, but I always think back to the first time I heard it on the show. I was just a substitute and I got goosebumps.

"I remember thinking, 'This is one of the best moments of my life' — and that was before I became a real competitor."

Wesley, who is originally from Sheffield but now lives near Huddersfield, was promoted to the front line after another competitor was injured and he stormed through the preliminary rounds to reach the final of the 2024 season.

He said he hoped that appearing on the show might lead to more opportunities in the wrestling world, but he was surprised by how quickly his diary filled up.

“After those two weeks or weeks, I felt incredible, like on cloud nine.

“I don’t want to spill the beans before the show airs, but I emailed a few promoters and said I might be on TV soon if they wanted to book me in advance.

“There was almost no interest, and then, as soon as the show aired, everyone wanted to book me.

"I took two weekends off in the whole of last year - one because I was injured and the other for my brother's 40th birthday."

Bronte, 25, from Sheffield, grew up in Gladiator A huge fan, despite being born shortly before the show ended on its ITV debut in 2000.

"As a kid, my sister and I would watch '90s shows on repeat with our parents, and then we'd go out and recreate some of the games," she said

“When they brought it back and said it was going to be filmed in Sheffield, it was like it was made for me.

"I'm not going to lie, I'm a very competitive person. If I do something, I want to win.

"But if you had told me beforehand that I would be in the final, I would never have imagined that."

Similar to Wesley, South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service firefighter Bronte has retained her day job.

But outside of work she continued to take part in physical challenges, finishing third at the British Weightlifting Championships in December.

Both Brontë and Wesley described the experience of being recognized in public last year as surreal.

“The whole community feel in Sheffield is amazing,” Brontë said.

"I would just go to Meadowhall or Asda and people would come up to me and say: 'Are you Bronte from Gladiator?' It was so crazy, I thought it would stop now."

Meanwhile, Wesley attracted a nationwide following of young people, many of whom asked him for his autograph after wrestling matches.

“I was just shocked that anyone would care about the contestants,” he admits.

"I thought they were just worried about the gladiators themselves.

“But some kids come to me and they want to wrestle, and they all know my numbers on the show — it’s crazy.”

Both finalists have each built their own personal training and coaching businesses, which they run outside of their day jobs.

While much of it is dedicated to nutrition and exercise coaching, a big part of it is building the client's confidence and helping them get into the right mindset.

“This experience was an eye-opener for me and made me realize how much fitness has changed my life,” Wesley said. "I was just a shy kid from Sheffield who couldn't say 'boo' to a ghost. Now I'm running around Lycra doing guest lectures.

“It would be great if I could get other people out of trouble too.”

Both said they would be keen to watch the second season, and Brontë, who watched the filming of the new season last year, said it was fun to be in the audience because she gained a new perspective on the show.

"It's very different and it's nice to see the other side of it," she said.

“When you’re a competitor, they just take you out (to shoot), so it’s nice to be in the crowd and watch it all unfold throughout the day.”

Her final advice to this year’s contestants?

"Enjoy it! Go out and have fun."

The new series of Gladiators will air on Saturday at 17:50 GMT on BBC One.

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