The reboot of one of the most iconic sports-entertainment game shows is just days away.
But as viewers prepare to see the contenders in the ultimate test of speed and strength, new host Barney Walsh was disappointed to learn he wouldn’t be able to try out the games himself.
The Casualty actor joins him father Bradley for his new presenting role on BBC One, and he admitted that when he first entered the arena he was keen to get involved.
The sun has revealed that Barney had his eye on two new games, The Wall and The Eliminator, but production forbade him from trying them for fear he would breakka bot.
Barney, 26, explained that before filming started, they were allowed to visit the set to check it all out.
Gladiators’ new presenter Barney Walsh, 26, has revealed the classic game he was banned for on the set of the BBC reboot
Barney had his eye on two new games, The Wall and The Eliminator, but production forbade him from trying them for fear he might break a bone.
He said: ‘It was so much fun looking around this crazy spectacle, but I can’t lie, it just made me want to give the games a try. I actually just wanted to try The Eliminator, and I thought The Wall would be fun.
‘I did ask, but they wouldn’t let me. I guess they didn’t want me hosting with crutches… Maybe next time.”
But while Barney was happy to take on the challenges, his father Bradley, 63, admitted that kind of adrenaline rush isn’t for him, adding: “That’s definitely his kind of thing, not mine.”
Gladiators have been in the family for a long time as Bradley’s wife – and Barney’s mother – Donna Derby also has ties to the show, having been the lead choreographer for the Gladiators cheerleaders in the original 1990s series and then becoming an associate producer.
Bradley revealed that this wasn’t his son’s first time on the Gladiator set, as he took Barney as a baby to visit his mother at work.
While the father and son duo have previously worked together on Breaking Dad, which sees the pair take on challenges as they travel the world, this is the first time Barney has hosted a high-profile television programme.
The BBC has become embroiled in a nepotism row after father and son duo Bradley and Barney were cast to present the rebooted version of Gladiators.
Bosses are said to be ‘concerned’ about the signing, especially due to the company’s strict policy of going through a fair process before hiring staff.
Describing his visit to the set for the first time, Barney said: “It was so much fun looking around this crazy spectacle, but I can’t lie, it just made me want to give the games a try.”
The Wall in 1995, Barney was keen to try the Wall, which has now been revamped for the new series
While the father and son duo have previously worked together on Breaking Dad (pictured), which sees the pair take on challenges as they travel the world, this is the first time Barney has presented a high-profile television programme.
A BBC official told the Mail: ‘It has caused a stink’, adding that the casting has been noticed by the ‘upper echelons’, some of whom are ‘not particularly happy’.
Viewers have criticized the BBC for the agreements. One wrote on X, formerly Twitter: ‘I’m not convinced Bradley Walsh is right for the show and I’m less convinced his son is. This nepotism is not constructive.’
Another wrote: ‘Why does the BBC indulge in such blatant nepotism?’
The offspring of celebrities who work in the same industries as their famous parents are branded as “fake babies.”
As well as the new presenter, there will also be some woke changes in the BBC reboot, as the show has axed cheerleaders as well as certain ‘skinny’ outfits.
BBC bosses have made major changes to the reboot 30 years after it first aired, leaving fans concerned as they thought the show had become ‘too woke’.
One of the biggest changes is that the show will no longer feature cheerleaders, which were a prominent part of the original.
G-force was a group of eight women who performed a series of dance routines alongside the competitors and gladiators.
Cheerleaders, depicted in the 1995 version of Gladiators, have been dropped from the new series