A dog-walker from Dunfermline has beat the Gladiators to become one of the first winners of the show’s reboot.
Kerry Wilson, 34, appeared as the BBC show returned to TV screens on Saturday evening.
The champion mountain biker will go through to the quarter finals after coming up against Gladiator Sabre – Dundee gym owner Sheli McCoy.
Kerry gained enough points for a head-start in the final Eliminator round and finished ahead of fellow contestant Tasha.
Dunfermline woman calls Gladiators experience ‘surreal’
Kerry revealed at the start of the episode that she had not applied for the show – but that her wife, Amber, had put her name forward.
Introducing herself, she said: “To be a contender on Gladiators is absolutely surreal from watching it when you were younger to actually going to be on it – it’s awesome.”
She first faced Gladiator Fire – described by hosts Bradley and Barney Walsh as a “formidable opponent” – and was knocked from her podium with just five seconds to spare.
Kerry said afterwards: “It felt like I was up there for about an hour”.
Sabre appeared on the third task to mark contestant Tasha, 41, from Ipswich.
She was introduced as a “ferocious feline who isn’t afraid to pounce”.
‘That was the most incredible thing I have ever done’
Sheli – who runs the SweatBox Dundee gym on Camperdown Road – previously told The Courier how watching Gladiators with her parents as a kid inspired her to take on a new role in the relaunched TV series.
The 35-year-old faced off against Kerry for the penultimate round – Hang Tough – where she attempted to wrestle her off hanging rings.
After bringing Kerry down Sheli said: “She’s a great contender and it’s really been a pleasure to go against her today.
“And we’re both Scottish and that’s cool.”
Kerry went on to outrun Tasha in the final contest and win a spot at the quarter finals.
Speaking to Bradley Walsh after her triumph, she said: “I am literally speechless.
“That was the most incredible thing I have ever done.
“Thank you guys so much.”
Gladiators is available to watch every Saturday on BBC One and iPlayer.
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