BBC Gladiators Bradley Walsh makes career admission as he shares wife's TV past

A photograph of Bradley Walsh and his wife Donna Derby
-Credit:Adam Gerrard


BBC Gladiators Bradley Walsh has opened up about how his TV career sky-rocketed after meeting his wife. Alongside their son Barney, Bradley hosts the Gladiators reboot which airs on BBC One on Saturdays at 5.50pm.

According the The Mirror, ITV The Chase host Bradley Walsh has said that he wouldn't be where he is without the sacrifices his wife made. He is one of the most famous faces on British TV after appearing on our screens for more than two decades.

He has been married to his choreographer partner, Donna Derby, since 1997 who has played a key role in his huge success. His wife Donna was involved in the original Gladiators series in the 1990s.

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Bradley shared: "My wife, Donna, was involved in the original series running the cheerleading G Force and was an associate producer on the show."

He added: "I used to visit her and watch the show being made and when my son, Barney, was born it was still on air, so we used to take him to watch the show."

Following Donna's successful involvement in the show, Bradley was eager to be a part of the BBC reboot which started last year. He said: "It was a family affair for us and so when the team at Hungry Bear spoke to us and said they were looking for a family appeal to the show and asked if we would we like to host it, we jumped at the chance."

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He also revealed he took part in Gladiators as a celebrity in 1997. He said: "I wasn’t really a celebrity back then as I only had a few jobs under my belt and think I had to fill in for someone." He added: "They were a lot fitter, faster, higher, stronger than I could ever be and consequently I was useless."

Bradley's wife Donna experienced her own fame as a former professional dancer and choreographer, appearing in several shows including The Kenny Everett Show and The Russ Abbot Show. She was also chosen to star in Robert Palmer’s video for his 1988 hit Simply Irresistible.

Bradley met Donna in 1992, and the couple went on to get married in 1997. They share two children, Barney and Hayley Walsh. He said that without Donna devoting herself to parenthood, putting her own career on hold, he believes he wouldn't have been able to make the steps on TV that he made.

Speaking to The Mirror thirteen years ago, Bradley said that Donna had urged him to take a role on Coronation Street, when he was dithering over auditioning. He said: “She’s the one who recognised what it could do for me even though it would mean being apart.”

Gladiators returned to BBC One for its second series last weekend as the cult classic gameshow dazzled audiences with even more challenging contests.