I want to return as a Gladiator, says Scottish winner

An Army officer from Edinburgh who won the men's event in popular TV show Gladiators hopes to return to the BBC - as a Gladiator himself.

Finlay Anderson, 35, triumphed in the final of the athletic competition, defeating civil servant and wrestler Wesley Malé.

The father of two, who has done several tours in the Middle East, started the concluding Eliminator game level with his rival, but pulled ahead to take victory and celebrate in front of his family and friends.

Dublin fitness coach Marie-Louise Nicholson won the women's event, defeating Sheffield firefighter Bronte Jones.

The reboot of the beloved 1990s programme pits contestants against the Gladiators in a series of games, before going head-to-head with each other in the obstacle course-style Eliminator.

Mr Anderson previously lost to Mr Malé in the quarter-finals, during a contest in which he suffered a rib injury.

However he progressed to the next round as the fastest runner-up, and said that he felt "quite confident" going into the final.

He added: "I pulled away on the cargo net and kept going. Wes fell on the travelator at the end, so I went back round to cheer him on. He’s a really good guy.

“I crashed sideways through the finish line and was looking directly at my family and friends. I looked them in the eye and gave them a wave while still on the rope.

"It was pretty wild.”

Mr Anderson has now resumed his life in the military, which he joined in 2010.

He has previously undertaken two tours of Afghanistan and two tours of Iraq, as well as commanding an infantry company of 90 soldiers on operations around the world.

However he revealed he would love to return to the BBC programme in the future - but as a Gladiator himself.

He said: "I half-jokingly said to the producers ‘If we win, do we get to be a Gladiator on the next series?’

"They smiled and walked away with a twinkle in their eyes. So, I don't know if it will happen, but that would be fantastic.

"That would be fun, but we’ll have to see."

If successful, Mr Anderson would not be the first contestant to become a fully-fledged Gladiator.

Eunice Huthart who won the women's final in the 1994 series was invited back as the character Blaze and appeared in the franchise's live shows.

Mr Anderson cited his army career, and the "excitement of working under pressure", as having helped him during his time on the show.

He only narrowly won his first round match when his opponent slipped on a balance beam during the Eliminator round, and in his semi final he started the final round with a several-second deficit, which he made up.

The 35-year-old said the most challenging moment of the final was on the Edge, as this was where he had injured his ribs earlier in the competition.

He also said as a Crossfit fan, he wanted to "excel" against the Gladiator Steel during the series, because the athlete is a star of the fitness regime and won the title of UK's Fittest Man in 2020.

The women's event saw Ms Nicholson enter the last round with a two second head start and emerge victorious.

The 28-year-old said: "Bronte was on my tail the whole time, what a competitor to go up against, she was so close to the end there.

"I think we're both winners in my eyes."

She added that her approach to the contest had been to learn something if she lost, or gain something if she won.

Gladiators was first broadcast in October 1992 and was unlike anything seen before on the prime time Saturday slot.

The reboot has drawn an average of eight million viewers each week and has been re-commissioned for a second series.