Gladiators contestant on 'out of body experience'

Matt Jones narrowly missed out on the Gladiators final

A Welsh Gladiators contestant said the drama of nearly making the show’s final, despite losing his heat, was like an “out of body experience.”

Matt Jones was brought in during the final stages of Saturday night’s semi-final after Chung Leung sustained an injury.

The 42-year-old from Cardiff took the lead in the eliminator course but ultimately lost out to fellow contestant Wesley Male, who goes through to next week’s grand final.

"It was crazy," said Matt, who was asked to stay on as a standby by the show’s producers after he failed to make it past the heats.

Matt relaxing backstage with fellow contestant Marie-Louise and Gladiator Giant

He said he never thought he would take part and spent a lot of the time sunbathing and watching the contests during filming last summer.

But before he knew it, he was back in that famous Gladiators outfit with Chung’s relatives supporting as his “surrogate family.”

“ It was almost like I was still in the stands as a spectator, an out of body experience, it’s such a blur and so crazy when there are thousands of people in the audience and the cameras are there, it’s crazy," he added.

After having to finish off a game of Powerball and face Gauntlet, the scores were tied, meaning Matt and Wesley started the Eliminator course at the same time.

“It was close,” recalled Matt, a civil engineer and father of two.

“If you remember, I fell down on the cargo net in the heats, so I was determined to not do that again. And that is where I overtook Wes on the course.”

Matt even got a tattoo to show he had been on Gladiators

But while Matt was looking strong physically, his mind began to race.

“I was coming down the zip wire and it kind of hit me that I was probably going to be in the final here," he said.

"This was eight o’clock on a Saturday night. The final was going to be filmed the next day. I am up in Sheffield, quite far from home. So I am starting to think I am going to have ring the family and see if they can come up.

"And what am I going to say to (show host) Bradley Walsh at the bottom? I lost my heat and here I am strolling into the final. How am I going to explain this?“

This “overthinking”, said Matt, meant he lost concentration and dramatically fell off the balance beam, with Wesley taking over and ultimately winning.

“ It worked out for the best - I didn’t deserve to be in the final," he added.

"Wes deserved it way more than me. I was just pleased to be competing - I am not a natural sportsman, I am just a normal guy. “

Matt said he hopes his Gladiators appearance will inspire his sons Will and Sam

Matt watched Saturday's semi-final with chips from the local chip shop, alongside his wife and sons, his parents and his brother, recreating the family Saturday nights of his childhood.

“It was good fun to watch it all together on the TV for the first time. The support has been great," he said.

The Gladiators Grand Final is on BBC One on Saturday 30 March at 17:50 GMT