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A former Harrogate man has been talking about the “pinch me moment” he walked into the arena as a contender in the current series of BBC TV’s The Gladiators.

Joe Holroyde, 41, who was brought up in Harrogate and still has a lot of contacts locally, although he now lives on The Wirral in Liverpool, said he had been signed up for the show without him even knowing.

"My other half thought it would be really funny to put in an application for me to go on Gladiators,” said the likable Joe.

"I didn't decide to go on the show, it was decided for me, so I just turned up and had a go."

Joe Holroyde, 41, who was brought up in Harrogate and still has a lot of contacts locally, although he now lives in Liverpool, said he had been signed up for BBC's The Gladiator show without him even knowing. (Picture contributed)

Joe is far from being a natural for the hit TV show, which is hosted by father-and-son team Bradley and Barney Walsh.

Although he enjoys cross-fit, runs marathons and enjoys working out, Joe is a full-time driving instructor, not a professional strong man.

As he entered Sheffield Arena for the first time in the heats of The Gladiators in front of millions of TV viewers, he even asked himself: "Am I the right person to be here?"

But the bearded former Harrogate man has performed incredibly well and is through to this weekend’s quarter-finals stage.

Joe said he had been "blown away" by the amount of support he had received from friends and family and by fans in Merseyside as a whole.

The Gladiators screens on BBC 1 on Saturday at 5.45pm and on BBC iPlayer.

Harrogate man is a sensation on The Gladiators show on BBC TV after success in the heats