Gladiators 2024: Oldest ever contestant shocks fans as he leads most grueling challenge

Spectators of Gladiators were recently left amazed after a 57-year-old reported to be the show’s oldest contestant fearlessly tackled one of the demanding challenges of the event. Despite his age, grandfather of five Paul Campbell showed he was still a force to reckon with on the stage when he gave tough competition to Dev, who is nearly half his age.

The 11-episode series features a diverse lineup of contestants, including an elite CrossFit athlete, a James Bond actor, and two Olympians, as they face off against the public in a series of intense challenges, according to Daily Mail.

In each episode of the show, Gladiators confront contenders in a mix of both classic and modern games, culminating in the iconic challenge known as The Eliminator. In the latest episode, male contenders Dev from Essex and Paul from Sheffield competed head-to-head for victory.

During the episode, both contestants engaged in multiple challenges such as Collision, The Ring, and The Edge. Paul’s performance surprised viewers as he secured four points in the initial rounds, establishing a lead over Dev, who only managed to score two points.

However, it wasn’t just Paul’s athletic abilities that captivated fans; it was his age that particularly astonished viewers. Ahead of participating in The Ring challenge, the grandfather-of-five disclosed that he was 57 years old, contrasting with his 30-year-old opponent, Dev. Viewers were astonished by this revelation and expressed their disbelief on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter), marveling at Paul’s remarkable athletic abilities at his age.

One quipped: “Can’t believe Paul is actually 57, look at how good he looks!”

“He’s NOT 57!!”, another said.

“Another fun episode of #Gladiators tonight. Well done to Tuathlaith, she made Northern Ireland proud, and massive props to Paul for taking on the challenges at the young age of 57,” a fan of the show also said.

The show marks a revival of the beloved sports program that originally aired from 1992 to 2000.

In its return, father and son duo Bradley and Barney Walsh took on the role of hosts, presenting the show from Sheffield.

Talking about his experience on the show in a video shared by Sheffield Council, Paul said: “Well it meant everything. It’s my home town, it’s a chance to get on the Gladiators show, which is TV, you know, it doesn’t happen every day, so for me it excited me no end to perform in Sheffield, in front of the home crowd.”