Ex-para wins Gladiator heat but admits it was hard

The 40-year-old ex-paratrooper is through the quarter-finals

A Hampshire firefighter and former paratrooper said he "genuinely underestimated" the challenge of competing on BBC TV show Gladiators.

Andy "Mitch" Mitchell, from Bournemouth in Dorset, triumphed in the fifth episode, despite starting from behind and falling on the travelator in the eliminator obstacle course.

The 40-year-old is now through to the quarter-finals of the tournament's second series.

At the end of the episode, which aired on Saturday, he said: "That was incredible, it was hard work, and now I've got it all to come again but I can't wait."

The second series began in January

Mr Mitchell is a full-time firefighter, based at Winchester.

In his pre-recorded introduction on the show, he said: "Every member of the watch brings a special skillset to the job and I believe mine is my fitness and my strength.

"I've been obsessed with fitness my whole entire life and that's why, at 17, I decided to join the Parachute Regiment so taking on the Gladiators, for me, is going to be a walk in the park.

"Back in the 90s, I remember being obsessed with the Gladiators. Thirty years later, it's a once in a lifetime opportunity to prove that I can win."

Gladiators was first shown by ITV in 1992 and was revived in 2008 by Sky.

The latest reboot began in January 2024, with the current series launching in January 2025.

The BBC said at least 8.7 million people had watched the first episode of the current series, which it said was the "biggest launch" of an entertainment TV series for seven years.