Finlay Anderson and Marie-Louie Nicholson have been crowned champions on the BBC reboot of Gladiators after a tense showdown.

After 11 weeks of gruelling challenges against the fierce line-up of Gladiators, the male and female competitors emerged victorious after defeating Wesley Male and Bronte Jones.

Marie-Louie entered the eliminator with a two-second head start on firefighter Jones, helping her to win.

The 28-year-old personal trainer told presenter Bradley Walsh: “Bronte was on my tail the whole time, what a competitor to go up against, she was so close to the end there. I think we’re both winners in my eyes.”

Edinburgh Army Officer Finlay Anderson and Dublin-born Marie-Louie Nicholson crowned Gladiators champions

Army Officer Finlay Anderson entered his head-to-head with wrestler Wesley Male and was able to beat his rival to the top of the Travelator.

The 34-year-old from Edinburgh told Bradley: “This is definitely the most surreal moment ever from five-year-old me playing The Eliminator in my granny’s living room to lifting the real deal, this is unbelievable."

He said the most challenging moment during the BBC final was on The Edge as he injured his ribs while attempting it during the quarter-finals and was "naturally cautious".

He added that as a CrossFit fan, he wanted to "excel" against CrossFit star Gladiator Steel during the series.

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Nicholson said her favourite moment on the Gladiators series was the “biggest comeback of the year” when she was able to win a challenge after being nine seconds behind on The Eliminator.

She added that her favourite game was Powerball as it involved "agility and speed and being tackled by a Gladiator" as well as a "bit of rough and tumble”.

She said: “Winning means to me that things that you’re scared of in life, things you don’t want to go up against, if you throw yourself into it you’ll either learn something if you lose or you’ll gain something from it if you win. I always think that, even if you lose you’ll gain something from it."

The Dublin-born champion added that if she were to become a Gladiator, she would call herself “Shamrock”.

The final comes after the BBC confirmed that there would be a second series of the show after the successful reboot.