GLADIATORS fans have been left outraged after a celeb won the show despite SKIPPING a key part of The Eliminator.
The hit BBC series returned on Christmas Day for its second celebrity special.
This year, Joe Wicks and Sam Thompson went head to head in the men’s competition, while Nicola Adams and Vogue Williams were competing for the women’s title.
Both contests were closely fought, with the celebs taking on four challenges; Duel, Gauntlet, The Wall and Collision.
In the end, there was only half a second between Joe and Sam in their Eliminator, with Joe just pipping Sam to the post to take the win.
Then it was the turn of the female celebs, and former Olympic boxer Nicola had a two second head start on model and DJ Vogue.
After getting over the high and low beams, both stars had to navigate the knot rope up to a platform to then take on the monkey bars.
While Nicola managed it, Vogue struggled and after a couple of moments, the referees brought over a ladder for her so she could get to the platform and continue.
Nicola had chance to grow her lead at this point and tackled the rope wall and zip line before moving on to the balance beams.
She then moved on to the Travelator, but ran out of steam, slipping back down to the ground, just as Vogue arrived off the balance beam and was beside her.
Both women were exhausted, and Vogue also struggled on the Travelator before Nicola had another failed attempt.
In gripping scenes, Nicola and Vogue then took it on at the same time and were neck and neck, getting to the top and grabbing the rope to swing through the tape practically in unison.
But after reviewing the footage, hosts Bradley and Barney Walsh revealed it was Vogue who had got there first, by just 200th of a second.
Vogue was stunned, and viewers were quick to share their thoughts too on social media, with many referencing the ladder incident.
One wrote: “Nicola Adams was robbed. Having a ladder help you on the ropes should have disqualified Vogue. #Gladiators.”
Another added: “What utter nonsense. #vogue using a ladder and she goes into win. I would be ashamed and would hand back the trophy. #gladiators.”
A third commented: “In an alternate universe where contenders aren’t gifted ladders, Vogue is still standing at the bottom of the rope.”
Gladiators is available on BBC iPlayer.
