Gemma Atkinson breaks silence on rumour she’s set for celebrity version of Gladiators as fans tell her ‘you’d smash it!’
GEMMA Atkinson has broken her silence on reports she’s in talks to sign for a celebrity version of Gladiators.
The former Emmerdale star and fitness fan, 39, was said to be “desperate” to be involved – but it appears it won’t be happening after all.
The TV and radio star was asked by a fan on Instagram: “Please tell me you’ve been asked to do celebrity gladiators? My 6 year old little girl thinks you’d smash it.”
Addressing the speculation head on, Gemma responded: “I heard about this little rumour!
“It was news to me [laughing emoji]. No chats have been had. I loved the original show as a kid & I’m glad it’s back for the next generation to watch, but I wouldn’t put Gorks and Mia through the stress of trying to watch me climb that wall.
“Happy to sit it out & watch from home.”
Gladiators producers are said to be hard at working piecing together a line-up of famous faces for a rebooted celebrity edition.
The Mirror reported that Gemma asked her team to reach out to people at the BBC for a spot on the line-up.
A source said: “Gemma heard that a celebrity special was in the pipeline, and said to her agent she would love to be involved.
“Gladiators was Gemma’s favourite show as a kid, and, because she’s so into fitness now, it would be her dream gig.
“Talks are ongoing – the show team are thrilled that she is so keen.”
In 2018, Gemma praised Gladiator icon Jet on Instagram, stating: “This lady here (Jet) was the reason I started going to the gym and training. I used to love Gladiators.”
When Gladiators returned in January, with Bradley Walsh and son Barney picking up hosting duties, it became an immediate Saturday night hit – with 8.7million viewers tuning in.
A second season was quickly greenlit, with applications now open for wannabe winners, with talks of a celebrity special also in the works, as confirmed by show producer Dan Baldwin.
“You always look at old shows no longer on television. You are always coming up with new ways of bringing back a show,” he told BBC Radio 4.
“There’s nothing wrong with that because those shows were great for a reason. We’ve always got an eye on what could come back and be a hit like Gladiators is.”