We went to see Gladiators being filmed - and learned a few secrets of the hit TV show

It is one of the biggest, brightest and much-loved shows on television - and for the last few weeks they’ve been fiming the brand new series of Gladiators right here in South Yorkshire.

Thousands of fans of all ages have been flocking to Sheffield Arena as filming for series four of the Saturday night BBC show hosted by Bradley and Barney Walsh takes place right here on our doorstep.

You’d have to have been living in a cave for the last 35 years to not know what it’s about, but for anyone still not familiar with the format, it’s a game show which sees members of the public go head to head with the so-called Gladiators - lycra-clad superhuman sports men and women with super-hero style names in a series of larger than life games.

It first hit our screens back in 1992 and has now been rebooted by the Beeb in a glitzy new format with a whole new generation of Gladiators to get to grips with.

Anyway, enough of the explanations - and on with the show.

I’m not ashamed to admit myself and my wife Giulia are big fans of the show. It’s good old-fashioned lightweight entertainment packed with action and drama, laughs and panto silliness and the perfect way to unwind after a busy week.

So when free (yes, free) tickets came up for filming in Sheffield, we decided to chance our arms and apply via an online ticket lottery.

After filling in our details online, it all went quiet for a few weeks - before an email dropped saying we’d been lucky enough to land some.

Now here’s where it gets interesting.

Because TV bosses want to make sure the arena looks packed out on screen for viewers at home, tickets are deliberately over subscribed to make sure it’s packed to the rafters.

In other words, you have to turn up at the venue hours before filming starts, queue up with hundreds of others and hope you’re lucky enough.

There’s a lot of stuff in the terms and conditions about “managing the expectations of children” - in other words, your little ones might come from all corners of the country, armed with a banner supporting their favourite Gladiator with no guarantee of getting through the door.

Fortunately, we didn’t see any youngsters being turned away in floods of tears and reaching the front of the queue, we were lucky enough to get a pair to secure our place.

Told to return later for when filming was due to commence, we duly did as we were told, joining fans of all ages queuing on the concourses on a rather blustery Sheffield day.

As the clock struck 4pm, the doors swung open to loud cheers and we streamed inside.

We were given a tantalising glimpse of the brightly lit Arena floor as we made our way to our seats, squeezing past the busy merchandise stand, packed with t-shirts and those red and blue foam finger things as well as programmes and a selfie station where you could get pictures alongside cardboard cut-outs of the likes of Legend, Sabre, Nitro, Diamond and the show’s other stars.

DJs kept the crowd entertained with music, fun and games and prize giveaways before filming got under way - while giant screens unveiled some new Gladiators for the next series and a new game - but we were made to adhere to a “pinky promise” not to say anything about those - so you’ll just have to wait until the series airs.

What we can tell you though is that the new series will feature a Celebrity Gladiator, former rugby star and The Traitors favourite Joe Marler going under the name of The Mauler.

Viewers will get to see an extra special treat involving him, which we were lucky enough to see - but again, sorry folks, we have to remain tight-lipped about that for now.

Anyway, our visit was semi-final day and we were treated to filming taking place for two separate shows.

That meant we got to see four lots of Duel (the game where they pummel each other with those giant earbud things, known as pugel sticks) and The Wall, where contenders have to scramble up a 10 metre climbing wall, trying to evade a chasing Gladiator.

But best of all, we were also treated to four slices of the final Eliminator end game where contenders face off against each other on a gruelling obstacle course, ending with the iconic and famous Travelator - the uphill treadmill that has taken out many an exhausted contender.

Anyone expecting to see a complete show from start to finish would have been disappointed.

This is the magic of television of course - so there’s a lot of Bradley and Barney filming links for things that you don’t actually get to see, lots of production setting up between games, the ever present “stand by everybody” mantra of the TV floor manager as cameras get set to roll and the joy of being able to witness the sheer scale of each show.

More than 200 people work behind the scenes and it really is a mammoth effort as parts of games are wheeled into place across the vast Arena floor.

Drone cameras, massive lighting rigs, scissor lift cameras - filming truly offers a glimpse of what goes into putting the show together. Add in a few filmed “shocked” reactions from the audience, pre-recorded cheers to be edited in at a later date and of course, Bradley and Barney occassionally fluffing their lines and requiring another take and it really does make for a fascinating glimpse of one of Britain’s best loved shows.

What the banner-waving youngsters made of it all is anyone’s guess - they probably went away confused and puzzled - but of course, all will become apparent when the series eventually makes it to screens.

So, what else can we tell you? Well, without giving too much away, there’s some homegrown Yorkshire talent among the next crop of contenders - one of whom was given a huge reception when his home town was revealed.

You probably won’t get to see Bradley’s uncannily accurate Donald Trump impressions on the box and yes, ref Mark Clattenburg doesn’t do much more than shout “Contender - ready!” and blow his whistle, but after more than five and a half hours of filming, the episodes were in the can and a very tired audience streamed its way into the cool Sheffield night, eagerly chatting about the fun and games they had seen.

We can’t wait until filming returns again next year, when hopefully we’ll be able to enjoy another glimpse into the secrets of the show.