She may have been beaten to the Gladiators hosting gig by Bradley Walsh and his son Barney – but it now looks like Davina McCall might get her time in the show’s arena after all.
Davina, 56, previously put her name forward to host the reboot in a jokey tweet to ITV, but the father and son duo ended up fronting the show.
However, it is now claimed that Davina is at the top of the list of stars the show’s bosses are eyeing for the celebrity spin-off.
Celebrity Gladiators ready?!
Former TOWIE star Mark Wright and Made In Chelsea’s Spencer Matthews are also believed to be on the wish list.
A source alleged to The Sun: “The BBC want big name contestants with the kind of strength and agility needed to compete with the intimidating gang of gladiators.
Davina is incredibly fit and already looks keen to be involved.
“Davina is incredibly fit and already looks keen to be involved. Even if she has only previously talked about lending her presenting skills.
“As for the blokes, the producers love the idea of getting the fellas in to see if their gym-honed muscles are just for show or if they’ve got genuine brawn.”
The BBC refused to comment on the story.
Gladiators hosting dream shut down for Davina McCall
Davina spoke of her hopes in hosting Gladiators way back in 2019, before the reboot had even been confirmed.
ITV took to X, then known as Twitter, at the time to ask viewers which TV show they would like to see brought back.
When one social media suggested Gladiators, the network responded: “CONTESTANTS ARE YOU REEEEEEADY?! (Obv we’re saying this in a John Anderson voice).”
Davina then jumped in to say: “Bagsy present it.”
When ITV teased: “You mean you wouldn’t want to be a contestant?!,” she replied: “It wouldn’t be fair.”
Fans were quick to chime in and agree that Davina would host.
One wrote: “Davina, please make this happen! We’re more than ready!”
A second added: “You would be amazing presenting this.”
Bradley and Barney win over viewers
Bradley and Barney Walsh were an instant hit with viewers and over six million viewers tuned in to the show’s launch in January.
Former host John Fashanu gave the pair his seal of approval but admitted he had initially had some doubts.
He told Instant Casinos: “I think they’ve grown into the show as the series has gone on and are beginning to become accustomed to their roles as presenters alongside each other on this sort of show.
“I’ve been impressed by them in recent episodes. I have a feeling they’re going to do something quite special in the future. Bring on the next series of Gladiators!”
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