The Traitors victor Harry Clark was reportedly roped in at the last minute during filming for Celebrity Gladiators.
Comedian Chris Ramsey is said to have sustained a leg injury during filming at the Sheffield Arena, which forced him to bow out of a challenge which tasked stars with legging it long distances.
The last-minute drop-out for the task, titled Unleashed, is said to have forced producers to bring out Clark as a curveball.
The former British army engineer won £95,000 in the second season of The Traitors UK, keeping his status as a Traitor secret from the other castle hopefuls.
Clark was reportedly a ‘master game-player’ when he stepped in, according to The Sun, with a huge round of applause for his lycra-clad appearance.
An insider said: ‘The audience where the show was being filmed at Sheffield Arena were enthralled by the turn of events and were thrilled when it was announced he was stepping in.’
They added: ‘There were a few chuckles too when the former soldier emerged with a bandage on his hand and explained he’d suffered a minor injury making a cup of tea.
‘He said he hoped he could hold his own and do Chris proud, however. It means it will be the first Celebrity Gladiators show featuring five celebrities rather than the usual four.’
It’s not clear if Clark was on stand-by or was roped in because he happened to be in the arena on Friday.
However, Ramsey reportedly did not duck out entirely, still competing in challenges that didn’t affect his hamstring injury.
It comes after it was revealed that the Celebrity special will see Big Brother presenter AJ Odudu enter the arena alongside comedians Ramsey and Sara Pascoe, and social media personality George Clarke.
When it was announced that Ramsey would be doing Gladiators, he hinted at the challenge of competing in his more injury-prone forties, saying: ‘As someone who religiously watched Gladiators as a kid, it’s beyond incredible to be taking part in the show myself!
‘However, a large part of me does wish it could have been while I was in my 20s and not 40… but there you go.’
Metro contacted the BBC, Chris Ramsey and Harry Clarke’s representatives for comment.