PE teacher says his Gladiators exit is a lesson for pupils

A PE teacher said his exit from the TV show Gladiators taught his students the value of trying but failing.

Mark Billings was eliminated from the quarter-finals of the BBC One programme due to a hamstring injury, but hoped it was a teachable moment for his pupils at the FitzWimarc School in Rayleigh, Essex.

The 38-year-old said that as a kid, he was glued to the original series - which sees contestants take on physical challenges against the show's resident athletes - but now decades later, it was his turn to go on it and inspire the next generation.

"I just wanted to show my children, and other children that I teach as well, that you've got to throw yourself at things sometimes, and it is good to fail because you pick yourself up and it makes you better, it makes you stronger," he said.

"You don't want to make yourself look silly live on TV, you don't want to embarrass your family... but at the same time, if you don't take these steps in life you're never ever going to know."

Speaking to BBC Essex's Sonia Watson, following the show's airing, Billings said it was an "amazing experience" seeing his own performance for the first time, which he watched with family and friends in the school hall on Saturday evening.

He said the 1,800-strong comprehensive and "whole community just got behind me, and it's been the best experience I've ever had in my life".

Billings' journey on the programme included a triumph against the largest Gladiator of the lot - Giant. You can watch the action back on BBC iPlayer.

He told the BBC he was "extremely scared" taking on the man mountain in the brand new Everest battle, during which competitors test their strength and balance on a tilting platform.

He said his own children were obsessed with the show.

"They love Gladiators - Every single Saturday, they're in front of the TV and my daughter's doing diamond pose and fury poses... my son's jumping up and down when Nitro does his jump as well," he said.

"I've never seen such proud faces of their dad being on the show.

"Having all my friends, my family [watching], and living a childhood dream... I can't explain it to you. It was the most amazing thing.

"Every single childhood dream has been accomplished, and yes, I haven't gone as far as I wanted to, but it's the greatest experience of my life."

As a regular viewer, Billings said he was once "that guy" who would underestimate the difficulty of the challenge.

"You're like, 'Oh, I'd easily do that. I'd easily do this', and all I would say is, it is so much harder than it looks, particularly the travelator [and] the eliminator," he recalled.

He explained he has no problem using treadmills at commercial gyms that have an approximate "15-degree incline", but estimated the eliminator's incline to be closer to 22/23 degrees and "much faster".

"So, it really does push you to your limits every event," he said.

"It's a tough old time when you're there, but just one of the best experiences I've ever had in my life."

He admitted the disappointment of the injury was a "tough time" for his family.

"It was really, really gutting at the time, really gutting," he said.

"The Atlas balls, they weigh just over 200kg (441lb). So when they're moving, obviously, and you need to change direction, they're quite heavy.

"In order to move them, you need to stamp them, and as it hit the sidewall, I stamped on it with my left leg, and then it bounced up against me, so I had the 200kg coming towards me as I was stamping down on it."

He said he felt "a pop" in his hamstring, and it was 18 weeks before he recovered.

He also confirmed the question on everyone's lips.

"Yes, I do get to keep the Lycra outfit - so yeah, that's now up on my wall in my living room with a few select pictures around it," he admitted.

"We'll be able to tell my grandchildren one day a few stories about it."

Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.