'This means the world to me' - Scarborough's Joe Fishburn wins Gladiators 2025 title

His victory in the final, televised on BBC One on Saturday night, saw a gripping finale in which Joe had to be at his brilliant best to pull off a course record on the eliminator with opponent Mus Dumbuya breathing down his neck, despite a healthy head start for the Scarborian.

It was the second time throughout the series that 23-year-old gym coach Joe, who runs JF Coaching in Scarborough, had beaten the record on the eliminator – the challenging final round which sees opponents go head-to-head in an obstacle race.

He also benefitted from a change in the rules on the wall, where Joe and Mus each raced a Gladiator up the wall, rather than them being chased, with Joe getting the better of Apollo but Legend scaling the wall quicker than Mus.

Joe’s victory capped off an incredible series for the fitness coach, which also saw him set a record on The Edge, where contenders run across a criss-cross grid in the air while gladiators try to push them off, accumulating 10 points in the fastest time.

Speaking on the show after being crowned champion, Joe said: “This means the world to me.”

He also paid tribute to his grandmother who he referred to as “my amazing Christine” who brought him up from the age of two. He added: “She’s done everything for me so this is for her.”

In an interview with the BBC following the show, Joe tried to capture his emotions. He said:“I don't quite have the words to describe it. This is definitely the best thing I've ever done. Winning this just means the absolute world. We were in an amazing final, and I felt like I already won coming into this process but obviously it's always nice to complete the whole thing and take the win. Mus is an amazing opponent, contender, friend, everything he does is so amazing and it was an honour to be in the final with him.”

Joe was joined by a contingent of family and friends who certainly made their presence known in the audience. Joe said: “So for the final we had my amazing grandma Christine, who looked after me since I was two. We had a few of the gymnasts from one of the clubs I work at and some of my extended family, cousins, godparents, my aunt and uncle, and Roddy Mackay who is an old contender from 1993 and one of the reasons why I applied for this show.”

“When I first found out that Roddy was a former gymnast and contender on the show, I knew I wanted to apply. He is the reason why I really pushed myself for this and wanted it for him.”

Joe said the whole experience had been amazing: “Before I set off on the Eliminator, I have one thing on my mind and that’s to focus on what I’m doing and do the best run I can. Mus is an amazing contender, so I really had to put the work in, and going through that paper in the final has got to be one of the biggest highs. I’ve met some amazing people on Gladiators and made some friends for life and winning this just seals the deal. One of the best bits about the show was the journey I’ve been on. At the start, I thought that if I get the chance to be on the show, I’d be really lucky so just go and enjoy it and getting to the final, I had the same mindset to just enjoy it and put on the best show.”

“The Gladiators are some of the most amazing athletes that I've met ever. They are some of the most friendly, amazing people behind the scenes and they genuinely want the best for you. They will go out there and match your intensity and give you a challenge which epitomises the whole show.”

When asked if there was one Gladiator in particular that stood out to him, Joe said: “Honestly, I think all of them, but one that sticks in my head is someone I’ve been inspired by my whole life and that’s Legend, because of his other work. Coming up against him was a pinch me moment. I was like oh my gosh is this really him, he's so impressive as an athlete.”

And as for the trophy? Joe said: ““That trophy is going in a very very special place, on my grandmother Christine's mantelpiece.”