Winners of Gladiators: Celebrity Special revealed
By Lauren Del Fabbro, PA Entertainment Reporter
Fitness coach Joe Wicks and Irish presenter Vogue Williams have won the celebrity version of Gladiators.
Hosted by father-son duo Bradley and Barney Walsh, the BBC game show sees two male and two female contenders compete in a series of physical challenges against the show’s elite athletes, known as the Gladiators, who each have a fictional character name.
Following a nail-biting finale on Christmas Day, Wicks and Williams were crowned the champions of the festive celebrity instalment after defeating presenter Sam Thompson and boxing star Nicola Adams.
Wicks said: “Even though I had a bit of a breather, I still found that travelator hard. It’s much harder doing it in real life than watching it on TV.
“I’m really chuffed that I won but I have to say Sam has been an amazing partner.”
The fitness coach, 40, is best known for his online PE workouts, which became popular during the Covid-19 lockdowns, and for authoring a number of cookbooks.
Despite his defeat, Made In Chelsea star Thompson was in high spirits and, referring to himself with his self-appointed Gladiator name, told the Utilita Arena in Sheffield: “El Cockroacho, baby – you can’t stamp him out!”
In the other eliminator, Williams, who was two-hundredths of a second ahead of Adams in completing the course, said: “I honestly cannot believe it, I’ve had the best day ever.
“The crowd when I was doing so badly were so nice to me so thank you.”
Her win comes after her stint in the Australian jungle as a contestant on ITV’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!
Olympic gold medallist and former boxer Adams said: “I came down on the zipline and landed funny on my ankle and I just couldn’t get it going again.”
“This is the first silver medal I’ve had!” she joked.
Adams became the first woman to win Olympic gold in her sport when she took the flyweight title at London 2012, and successfully defended her crown in Rio four years later.
In 2020, she appeared on Strictly Come Dancing, partnered with professional dancer Katya Jones as the show’s first same-sex couple.
Gladiators: Celebrity Special is available to stream on BBC iPlayer with the new series of Gladiators airing on BBC One and iPlayer early in the new year.
