On Sunday, friends and family of Dave Staff gathered in the sports hall at Harborough Leisure Centre to watch his first performance on the Sky One knock-out show.

The 29-year-old was a fan of the original programme, which was on ITV primetime from 1992 until 2000, and when he got the chance to become a contestant he was overjoyed.

In the show, contestants are pitched against each other in a series of events and obstacle course-style challenges but it’s not so easy as they face an onslaught of muscular gladiators trying to deter them from finishing.

Mr Staff, who is a sports coach for Kettering Borough Council and Moulton College, was put through a series of gruelling fitness tests during the auditions, along with 10,000 others. He took part in mock events and was put under the watchful eye of the cameramen who filmed their abilities.

In December, the former Welland Park College and Robert Smyth School student and 11 others were called to the studio in London to take part in the second season of the new series, which was re-launched by Sky last year.

Mr Staff, of Jerwood Way, Little Bowden, lives with his partner Charlotte Cousins and their children Bethany (3) and Harrison (1). He said: “I was over the moon when I got the call. I had to stay in London for two weeks to film the whole series, which was tough being away from my family.”

In the first show, Mr Staff, who plays football for Rugby Town, completed four events, which included him hanging from rings while the gladiators tried to pull him down. He successfully completed them and gained points which gave him an extra six-and a-half seconds in the final Eliminator course against another contestant. In this assault course he had to wrestle past obstacles including gladiators. Mr Staff said: “The gladiators were huge and quite intimidating but for anyone that loves fitness it’s a fantastic opportunity and I managed to beat them and I won a place in the quarter-finals. Although we’ve filmed the whole season I’m not allowed to reveal anything unless it has already been on TV.”

The quarter-final show is due to be aired on March 1 on Sky One.