Gladiators contestant hilariously reveals her father thought she was starring in the sequel of Russell Crowe’s iconic film

Gladiator contestant Marie-Louise Nicholson hilariously revealed her father thought she had been offered a role in the remake of the 2000 action film.

Marie-Louise, 28, joined the contestants trying to defeat the ‘superhuman’ Gladiators on the BBC’s reboot of the ’90s ITV game show on Saturday evening.

However, she explained that her appearance on the show caused some confusion in her family as her father believed she would appear in the Gladiator movie sequel.

Laughing, Marie-Louise recalled: ‘My father thought it was the movie Gladiators (sic). The one with Russell Crowe. It’s like, ‘Dad, I’m going to a show!'”

Russell Crowe famously starred in the 2000 film Gladiator and Paul Mescal will lead the cast of an upcoming remake of the historical epic.

Gladiator contestant Marie-Louise Nicholson hilariously revealed her father thought she had been offered a role in the remake of the 2000 action film – instead of the BBC game show

She explained that her appearance at the Gladiators match caused some confusion in her family, as her father thought she would appear in the sequel to the Gladiator film (Photo: Russell Crowe in the original film)

She explained that her appearance at the Gladiators match caused some confusion in her family, as her father thought she would appear in the sequel to the Gladiator film (Photo: Russell Crowe in the original film)

Marie-Louise appeared on the game show Gladiators and won the second episode alongside steelworker Jake from Sheffield, 23.

She took on paramedic Zoe McIntosh, while Jake took on Guinness World Record holder John.

Marie-Louise has more than 3,000 followers on Instagram and listens to the show every week, supporting her through her Stories.

In each episode, two male and two female contestants complete a series of physically taxing challenges against the ‘Gladiators’, all fitness fanatics, with the aim of stopping them at every opportunity.

Gladiators is a remake of the 1992 ITV show of the same name, in which civilians compete against bodybuilders and athletes.

The original Gladiators was canceled in 2000.

A first revival of Gladiators was produced for Sky 1 and aired between May 2008 and October 2009.

This second revival launched in January and is hosted by Bradley Walsh and his son Barney.

The first series will run for eleven episodes and was filmed at the Utilita Arena in Sheffield during the first two weeks of June 2023.

Gladiators is based on American Gladiators, which aired from 1989 to 1996.

Marie-Louise appeared in Gladiators - which has been rebooted by the BBC after the success of the '90s game show - and won the second episode

Marie-Louise appeared in Gladiators – which has been rebooted by the BBC after the success of the ’90s game show – and won the second episode

Gladiators 2024 was filmed at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham and there were also live shows that took place at Wembley Arena.

The debut episode of the BBC reboot attracted a whopping 6.4 million viewers and proved to be a big hit.

The popular game show, originally broadcast on ITV from 1992 to 2000, pitted contestants against highly skilled athletes, called ‘gladiators’, in grueling physical challenges.

According to BBC ratings, an average audience of 6 million people, with a peak of 6.4 million, tuned in to see how the contenders fared against the new superhuman gladiators: Fury, Apollo, Fire, Legend, Dynamite, Giant , Sabre, Steel, Electro, Phantom, Athena, Nitro, Diamond and Viper.