- Written by Noor Nanji
- culture reporter
The remaining four candidates are preparing for Saturday night's Gladiators final.
Finlay, Wesley, Bronte and Marie-Louise will take to the arena one last time after 10 weeks of competition.
The reboot of the 1990s show was such a hit in the ratings, with an average of 8 million viewers watching it each week, that a second series was confirmed.
Kalpna Patelnight, head of entertainment at the BBC, said: “It's great to hear how much families have watched this together and loved it.”
She added: “I can't wait to see more action from the Gladiators.”
The current series, filmed at Sheffield Arena, introduced 16 new gladiators, including fan favorites Saber, Legend, Giant and Diamond.
Over the course of 10 weeks, they competed against contenders in classic events such as duels and eliminators.
At the end of Saturday's show, two contenders, one male and one female, will be crowned champions.
Finley, a former Army officer, said he began his journey “happy with the opportunity to be on such an iconic show since I was a kid.” He added that it was “unrealistic” to reach the final.
Sheffield firefighter Bronte echoed similar sentiments, calling the experience “crazy”.
“I'm a very competitive person, but I never expected to make it this far. I'm really proud of myself knowing that I held my own against the gladiators,” she said.
The gladiators, like the contestants, had to undergo intensive training for the series.
Wrestler Wesley had the following advice for those thinking about attending next time: “Train for days and get to know your body, know how hard you can push and when to play smart.”
Marie-Louise, a personal trainer from Dublin, added: “You should definitely do it. What do you have to lose?”
Media experts said maintaining the original format was key to the show's success.
Tom Harrington, an analyst at media research firm Enders Analysis, told the BBC: “If you look at 'Gladiator,' it's exactly like the 1990s in terms of challenge, music and exclusion.”
Harrington said some of the other revived shows have failed because they've been “tinkered with” to the point where they lose their original appeal.
“In the case of 'Gladiator,' the producers knew what made it great to watch in the first place, and they didn't mess with it at all.”
Gladiator, which first aired on ITV on October 10, 1992, was unlike anything the Saturday primetime slot had ever seen before.
Lycra-clad fighters such as Wolf, Warrior, Shadow and Cobra became household names and candidates faced a variety of challenges.
The show aired on the network until 2000 and was revived by Sky in 2008-2009.
The BBC began airing the current series in January this year, hosted by Bradley Walsh and his son Bernie.
Compared to when Gladiator started in the 1990s, when there were only a handful of TV slots, there is much more competition for viewers' attention today.
However, the first hour-long episode became the BBC's biggest entertainment program in seven years, attracting around six million viewers. With on-demand viewing, this number increased to nearly 10 million in his 28 days.
Harrington said the “Gladiators” reboot achieved the rare feat of getting families together to watch TV on a Saturday night.
“It's a decreasing phenomenon,” he said. “Especially given that younger viewers are moving away from television to short-form video and streaming services.
“But here we have shows that air at certain times, and people tune in to that.”