Thousands of fans have been waiting for hours in huge queues to meet their heroes from the TV game show Gladiators.

An estimated 2,000 people had joined the line at Bluewater shopping centre this morning (Saturday).

The mass of dedicated followers continued to wait patiently deep into this afternoon.

One was Abby Clarke, from Essex, with her wife Melissa and daughter Daisy, 11.

She told KentOnline this afternoon: “The amount of people here is incredible, I can’t even see the back of the queue and we are still nowhere near the front.

“People have come from all over the country for this and we have waited for nearly six hours. But we are going to stay with it until the end.

“I understand several of the Gladiators are here such as Sabre, Hammer, and Legend who is from Kent.

“Because this is a shopping centre we have been able to sustain ourselves by one of us briefly going off to get food and drink.”

The giant complex in Greenhithe is hosting the TV stars today and tomorrow.

The event is an interactive experience, giving families a chance to tackle inflatable obstacle courses.

It includes versions of some of the show’s most popular events, such as Hang Tough, where participants must swing across a grid of rings and avoid the Gladiator to reach the opposite platform.

Gladiators first aired on ITV in 1992, presented by Ulrika Jonsson, and ran for eight years.

The BBC revived the show from January 2024 with Bradley Walsh and his son, Barney, as the hosts and the reboot has been hugely successful.

In the show four men and women compete in physically challenging events against against the resident Gladiators. athletes who specialise in areas such as bodybuilding or field and track events,.

The Gladiators experience at Bluewater is free and open on a first-come, first-served basis.

The event, at the Village Marquee, finishes today at 5.30pm and is back tomorrow from 10am to 5.30 pm.

You can watch Gladiators on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Saturdays at 7pm.

Bluewater was contacted for comment.