Celebrity Gladiators: Did contestants Ellie Taylor and Louise Minchin get hurt during filming?

And as she raced up a ramp, the effort that her body was exerting proved just too much and she felt a leg give way.

However, it wasn’t the feared the Gladiators travelator that did for her - it was actually a feature in a soft play centre that she was visiting with her children. Taylor, who has two children with her husband, the international reporter Phil Black, revealed the truth in an Instagram post at the end of August.

She uploaded a photo of herself wearing a protective orthopaedic boot on her leg, but still grinning at the camera. She used the caption to point out the irony of the situation to her 299,000 followers.

She wrote: “A brutal, physically arduous day filming Celebrity Gladiators = no probs. 30mins in a soft play with my daughter = visit to Urgent Care. Nothing like trying to show off in front of some children to bring you back down to earth with a bump. Or a pop, which is what my calf muscle did as I heroically raced up a treacherous 3ft ramp.”

The actress, who was also previously a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing, received many messages of support from her fans, as well as celeb pals. Presenter Angela Scanlon simply wrote: “Oh babe” with a crying face emoji.

Suggesting the pair have previously spoken about soft play centres, writer Caroline Hirons said: “Ow. Bloody hell. See? Soft play. Wrong on all levels.”

TV host Gaby Roslin also revealed she’d been injured in a similar situation with her children when they were younger. She penned: “Ouch! Hope you get better soon and keep well away from those soft play areas. I did my shoulder in many years ago in one such place!”

Presenter Helen Skelton, who was a contestant on Strictly in 2022 alongside Taylor, kept some humour in her message, writing: “Wow - u really did a good job there lovely. Take care”, accompanied by a love heart emoji.

Also taking part are TV presenter Joel Dommett, comedian Rob Beckett and journalist Louise Minchin - who said that in fact she was injured during the show.

Minchin has revealed that the contest got brutal, saying she was hurt after being kicked in the face by a Gladiator: “I don't know who cut my nose but there was blood. When they're fighting you, you can't feel the pain. But being tackled by them is like hitting a brick wall. I just had these extraordinarily powerful legs kicking out at me. Honestly, they're units!”

The popular 90s game show, which was rebooted earlier this year in a second revival of the original 1992 series, has been recommissioned for a second series. The show sees competitors go up against 16 superhuman Gladiators in tasks of speed, strength and skill, before facing the iconic Eliminator to be crowned winner.

The Celebrity Gladiators special, was filmed alongside the second series of the civilian Gladiators fitness challenge, and will be screened on New Year’s Day at 6pm on BBC1.