The Gladiators course is even harder than it looks on TV. Hang Tough's hanging hoops - the ones that I thought looked quite doable from the sofa - are, I can confirm, not doable. They spin, they swing, I fell off immediately on three attempts, and I did not have a 80kg hulk of muscle called Fury or Bionic zooming towards me at the same time. The Wall, likewise, was quite the challenge, despite my being devoid of an almost-7-foot Apollo predator grabbing for my ankles at the same time.
How do I know? Because I’ve just spent a day at the Gladiators Experience, the colossal 100,000 sq ft replica arena of the show's Sheffield arena that opened at Birmingham's NEC this summer. And amongst the proliferation of TV, film and sports spin-off experiences available in London and beyond right now - this was one of the best days out my family (including three kids aged 11, nine and six) have enjoyed together.
