Who is Gladiators star Legend?

The BBC One show's star with the biggest ego has a high-profile life outside of the Gladiators arena.

Gladiators welcomes Legend back to the arena for series 2. (BBC)
Gladiators welcomes Legend back to the arena for series 2. (BBC)

It wouldn't be Gladiators without the return of the show's biggest ego, Legend - but who is the man behind the outspoken TV character?

Legend is of course back for series two of the BBC reboot, recently telling fans on Instagram "I'm back, you can relax now". The Gladiator has become known for his over-confident persona and put downs aimed at contenders and co-stars alike, never missing an opportunity to explain how much better he is than everyone else.

We take a look at the star's life away from the arena and what qualified him to step up as a new generation Gladiator.

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LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 11: Matt Morsia attends the NTAs 2024 at The O2 Arena on September 11, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for the NTA's)
Matt Morsia has had a long career in sport and fitness. (Getty Images for the NTA's)

He's one of the biggest personalities in the BBC show, but away from the arena Legend is better known as fitness trainer Matt Morsia.

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Before being cast in the reboot, Morsia already had plenty of fans for his successful personal training business, posting on social media under the name MattDoesFitness. He also has a training app, Morsia, and has published a book about fitness and nutrition.

Matt Morsia and Sarah Morsia arriving for the 2024 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards held at MediaCityUK, Salford. Picture date: Tuesday December 17, 2024. (Photo by Martin Rickett/PA Images via Getty Images)
Matt Morsia and his wife Sarah are proud parents to two boys. (PA Images)

Morsia has had a long career in fitness and sport - he used to compete in the long jump and triple jump for Great Britain, moving into powerlifting after getting injured. He was also a PE teacher before his personal training business (and later TV stardom) took off.

The Gladiators star is a proud dad to two sons, often showing off his home life on social media - including an incredible hidden playground complete with mini hang tough rings that he had built for them in their house in Kent.

Despite his ultra-confident TV persona, in real life Morsia doesn't mind sharing a few throwback snaps to show fans how he has improved his own fitness.

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He advertises his training business with before and after shots on himself and wife Sarah, showing that his hard work really has paid off.

Obviously, Legend is into fitness - but potential Gladiators need a little more than just a keenness for the gym.

He likes to talk up his credentials, but there's plenty of truth behind Legend's boasts as he can triple jump more than 50ft which is longer than a double decker bus.

Legend loves to hear the crowd cheering his name. (BBC)
Legend loves to hear the crowd cheering his name. (BBC)

The star said: "Firstly, I thought I'd be really good at it... Secondly, it's always been a life goal of mine. I watched the original Gladiators as a kid so, from the age of nine or 10 years old, I wanted to be a Gladiator. It’s been a lifelong ambition, I guess."

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Legend admitted he loved playing to the crowd: "My dream scenario is performing in front of a crowd; the bigger the crowd the better, so that was awesome. It was amazing combining my two favourite things, which are ‘being good at stuff’ and ‘having people watch me being good at stuff’.

"The crowd at the arena was awesome, they were very interactive, and they all loved me. They all gave me pretty much consistently good feedback with a solid number of foam fingers and some intense chanting."

Legend also featured in the celebrity special. (BBC)
Legend also featured in the celebrity special. (BBC)

We're expecting to see more of the ego from Legend in series two - he's known for shrugging off the skills of the contenders with post-game putdowns, and comedian Rob Beckett was on the receiving end of a Legend insult in the celebrity episode.

After angering Legend, the Gladiator passed Beckett a broom from the TV. studio floor, telling him he'd misplaced his toothbrush.

It seems Legend's fellow Gladiators are also in the firing line for his bragging as the star gave a number of TV interviews in the lead up to series two emphasising just how much better he was than everyone else.

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Asked by The One Show about new Gladiators Cyclone and Hammer, he said: "From my point of view, you can never have too many assistants. You need people. I've got a lot of stuff to carry - water, snacks, protein, so for me it's quite useful, actually."

Gladiators continues on BBC One at 5:50pm on Saturdays.