A hunky Gladiators assistant referee claims he has the “coolest job” after landing a role in the BBC reboot having worked for more than two decades as a firefighter.
Lee Phillips, who is a qualified fitness trainer amongst many other talents, is loving being a part of the show, which originally launched on rival broadcaster ITV in 1992. With a whole new cast of superhuman athletes, the new series – fronted by Bradley Walsh and his son Barney – sees budding contenders battle the likes of Steel and Sabre in several challenging contests.
Those contests are overseen by former Premier League official Mark Clattenburg, former England netball star Sonia Mkoloma, and of course, Lee. The Welshman jumped at the chance to be a part of the production, having been a huge fan in its 90s heyday.
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Initially Lee was a fitness tester behind the scenes, before taking up on-screen duties.
(Image: leephillips999 / Instagram)
Lee, who worked in the emergency services for an impressive 23 years, told BBC Radio Wales about his new job: “I was like ‘why not?’ It is a pretty cool thing to do. He is no stranger to such surroundings, however, having competed in the 2017 World Police and Firefighter Games in Los Angeles amongst 10,000 fellow athletes.
He won gold in the Ultimate Firefighter and CrossFit competitions to become a double world champion, and got to experience what its like to be a contender during Gladiators’ rehearsals. “I got to do an eliminator,” he said. “I remember thinking as a kid, ‘I’d love to have a go at that’, then to actually do it myself was pretty cool.”
(Image: BBC / Nick Eagle / © Hungry Bear Media Ltd)
Lee continued, comparing the modern day format to that of yesteryear: “We didn’t have phones and social media to distract us so everyone sort of got round the TV and watched it. I think [the new series has] stayed true to the original.
“There are people now who grew up watching that show as kids who’ve now got kids themselves… so it’s sort of excitement across the whole family, I think.” Lee’s following has since rocketed to almost 11,000, where he regularly shares inspirational fitness training videos.
(Image: leephillips999 / Instagram)
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On landing his TV role, Lee, who has donned the cover of Men’s Health magazine a staggering 29 times, told the BBC recently: “It’s exciting to be part of such an iconic TV show, I look forward to bringing all my knowledge and experience to the arena floor to keep the gladiators and contenders in line as part of the referee team.”
Gladiators airs on BBC One on Saturdays at 5:50pm.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
