Staff from a Honiton fitness centre rubbed shoulders with Hunter from Gladiators at the National Fitness Awards last month.

B! Health & Fitness on the Heathpark Industrial Estate were among the finalists for ‘South Gym of the Year’, ‘Customer Services’ and ‘Member Achievement’ at the ceremony at the Athena Events Venue in Leicester on Friday, November 18. The centre did not win the titles, but the team said they were proud to have been nominated.

James Crossley, otherwise known as Hunter from the 1990s TV series Gladiators, presented the winners with their trophies after Jet (Diane Youdale) and Zodiac (Kate Staples) both pulled out.

Gladiators is being revived by the BBC and will return next year – 30 years after it first aired – with members of the public  competing with the game show’s cast of bodybuilders and gymnasts.

Craig Bernhardt, founder of B! Health & Fitness which opened in 2018 and also has another fitness centre in Lyme Regis, said: “We were absolutely delighted to be nominated for three separate awards at the National Fitness Awards. 

“We didn’t quite win in the end, but we were up against some big gym companies across the UK, and for B! Health & Fitness from small towns in Honiton and Lyme Regis, just to make it this far makes me very proud of what we’ve achieved.

“The team and I travelled up to Leicester and, of course, everyone was looking forward to meeting Jet from Gladiators as she was such an iconic star from that show.

“But Hunter stepped in and did a great job on the night. We look forward to Gladiators returning to our screens and will be aiming for B! Health & Fitness to take first places at the National Fitness Awards next year!”

B! Health & Fitness is a family business as Bernhardt’s wife, Sarah, is head of memberships and customer service at the fitness centres, while daughter Charlotte and son Dominic work as personal trainers.

Their customers include former League One Exeter City striker Ben Seymour and triple jump and long jump athlete Darren Thomas, as well as Honiton Rugby Club who also train at the fitness centre.