'Break 'em Bronte'! Firefighter is through to TV show semi-finals

Rotherham fire fighter Bronte Jones who is a competitor on Gladiators - photo by Kerrie Beddows

A ROTHERHAM firefighter who wowed viewers of TV's Gladiators with her debut performance kept the heat on to get through to the semi-finals of the show after an adrenaline-fuelled second battle with the 'superhuman' athletes.

And Bronte Jones was given a new nickname by presenter Bradley Walsh – who co-hosts the BBC show with son Barney – after she fought off challenges from four Gladiators in the penultimate challenge of The Gauntlet to win ten full points.

After two Gladiators dropped their shield pads and blockers and were disqualified, one – Diamond – told contenders to “watch out” as the show's stars were “strong, tough and unbreakable.”

To which 24-year-old Bronte, who is based at Rotherham Fire Station on Fitzwilliam Road, retorted: “I just broke them though, didn't I?”, with Bradley Walsh agreeing and dubbing her 'Break 'em Bronte'.

Bronte – who before the show aired said she hoped her firefighter training would help her perform under pressure – was one of four contestants fighting for a place in the semi-finals and was pitted against Tasha from Ipswich.

She took part in challenges including Duel, The Wall, and The Edge and was greeted after her

battle in The Ring by her opponent Fury who had much warmer words of praise.

“She is a brick wall!”, said Fury – a rugby union player from Dewsbury – adding Bronte made her “proud to be a Yorkshire lass.”

But it was the final round of the Eliminator which kept viewers guessing until the gripping end after both Bronte and Tasha stumbled on the energy-zapping travelator and had to attempt running up it a second time – with Bronte just beating her contestant to the top spot.

After being asked how she felt about the semi-finals, Bronte replied: “Bring it on!”

The show, which was filmed at Sheffield's Utilita Arena last year, continues on Saturday evenings on BBC One.