Contestant with Caithness connections set for Gladiators TV final
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Winning the Grand Final of the Gladiators television show this weekend would be "a childhood dream come true" for Finlay Anderson who has family in Caithness.
The 35-year-old army major, whose father and grandparents stayed in Wick, will be competing against Wesley Male, an admin officer from Leeds in the final of the competition on Saturday night.
Finlay, who lives in Edinburgh, said taking part in the Grand Final is "surreal."
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"I started this journey just happy with the opportunity to be on such an iconic show from my childhood. The dream has now reached a whole new level. Winning the event would be a childhood dream come true," he said.
Finlay used to play at being a Gladiator in his granny’s living room in Wick as a five year old when the programme was first broadcast in the 1990s.
His granny and grandad were the late Stella and Sandy Anderson.
His father, Evan Anderson comes from Wick but now lives in Edinburgh, and was in the audience when the programmes were being recorded.
Finlay also has aunts, great aunts and cousins in Caithness as well as family in Orkney and has fond memories of the far north.
"We used to go up to Caithness two or three times a year because my granny and grandad were there. I have fond memories of Caithness and being on Reiss sands. The last time I was there would be about three to four years ago," he said.
He described taking part in Gladiators as "a once-in-a-lifetime experience." The Grand Final will be screened on BBC1 and iPlayer at 5.50pm on Saturday.
