One of Britain’s best-known faces on TV is prepping hard for Gladiators, and flexing her rock-hard abs to prove it.
This week has proved a tumultuous one for fans of the BBC show, with news emerging that several popular cast members won’t be on this year’s series.
Following Giant’s axe earlier this year, it was reported that Bionic and Athena won’t be able to compete due to injury, while Cyclone later revealed that she had chosen to step down.
Nonetheless, excitement is still rife for the show’s return, including the Celebrity Special, which will see Big Brother presenter AJ Odudu enter the arena alongside comedians Chris Ramsey and Sara Pascoe, and social media personality George Clarke.
The four celebrities will face challenges including Powerball, Unleash and Duel, with all of them leading up to the final, most difficult obstacle – the gruelling eliminator.
Entering the Gladiators arena is no mean feat, and AJ is making sure she’s as physically fit as possible before taking on the enormous physical test.
In a post shared on her Instagram, the 38-year-old revealed that she’s in full training mode, including a picture that shows her defined abdominal muscles in the mirror of an elevator.
In another photo, she can be seen using the lat pulldown machine at the gym, while in a video, she filmed herself holding a kettlebell on her hip while doing clam shell exercises with her legs.
‘Gladiator Prep💪🏿,’ she wrote in the caption, as her friends and followers praised her on her dedicated fitness regime.
‘Ohh she’s ready 🙌,’ commented Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, the Gladiators star otherwise known as Nitro who competed on Strictly Come Dancing last year.
‘Those abs are definitely Gladiator-worthy,’ Instagram user alvinophiliacomics remarked.
‘🔥🔥 so ready to see you smash this!!! 🙌🙌,’ radio presenter and singer Fleur East wrote, while singer Paloma Faith added: ‘You honestly kill me.’
Meanwhile, the official Gladiators Instagram account added: ‘Oooh, she means business! 💪🏾❤️🔥.’
When it was announced that AJ would be doing Gladiators, she emphasised how much the experience meant to her, having dreamt of doing it since she was a kid.
‘I am stepping inside the TV to do the show I wanted to do as a kid, it’s so exciting,’ she said.
Her fellow competitor Chris added: ‘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.
‘I’m looking forward to the challenge, the excitement, the crowd and going head-to-head with the Gladiators and the inevitable months of rehab and physiotherapy that will no doubt follow.’
Having competed on Strictly last year, George claimed that he had been ‘missing the BBC packing me into a small tight outfit, so Gladiators felt perfect’.
‘Unfortunately, I don’t think I can rely on a partner to carry me through this one. Might have to get training!’ he quipped.
Sara also shared: ‘Celebrity Gladiators is the ideal opportunity for me to live out my childhood dream of humiliating myself on national television.’
Father-son duo Bradley and Barney Walsh will be back to present the show, almost 30 years after the former took part in Gladiators – Celebrity vs Jockeys Special in 1997.
Gladiators and Gladiators: Celebrity Special will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer later this year.