Gladiator champion returns to Hackness Primary School for Children in Need

Young contenders proved they were ‘ready’ when champion Gladiator, Joe Fishburn returned to help pupils from his old school raise hundreds of pounds for Children in Need.

Joe, the 2025 winner of the popular BBC entertainment programme Gladiators, joined Pudsey Bear in a day of physical challenges with children and staff from Hackness Primary School and Wykeham Primary School.

Pupils from Wykeham Primary School and Hackness Primary School, take part in fundraising for the BBC’s Children in Need with Gladiators winner Joe Fishburn

placeholder image — Pupils from Wykeham Primary School and Hackness Primary School, take part in fundraising for the BBC’s Children in Need with Gladiators winner Joe Fishburn

Both celebrities joined pupils in Wykeham for a rigorous programme of circuits of the field, star jumps and press-ups as they raised £923.80 for Children in Need.

Their efforts were filmed by the BBC for Friday’s Children in Need coverage and the children were interviewed by Radio York about their school and its fundraising efforts.

Joe, a former pupil at Hackness Primary School, told the children about how he was brought up by his grandma after his mum died when he was just two.

He explained about his ethos of overcoming adversity, how he’d succeeded despite coming from a tiny village and he talked about winning Gladiators, with which he is currently on tour.

He then supported the 90 children and ten staff in their physical endeavours to raise as much money as possible for the charity.

Children wore Pudsey-themed clothes, or their favourite sportswear, and they made posters to hold while cheering on the competitors.

Executive headteacher for both schools Rowena Thorp said: “The BBC discovered that Joe was from Hackness and, as we were planning to take part in the fundraising, asked him to join us.

“Pudsey then arrived to surprise the children.

“The school councils at both schools wanted to do something to help children who may be struggling or facing adversity and becoming involved with the BBC’s Children in Need has given them a sense of being part of something much bigger.

“They have been on the BBC all week, which has been amazing, and some children had never even listened to the radio before.

So, it has given them an insight into how radio and TV operate.

“The whole event was so exciting. We do such a lot of work with the children about social justice and our responsibility to the community and Joe and Pudsey added some real magic to the proceedings.”