Bronte Jones: Praise for 'awesome' Sheffield firefighter after she 'smashes it' on BBC show Gladiators

An 'awesome' Sheffield firefighter has been showered with praise after powering her way through to the quarter-finals of BBC show Gladiators.

Bronte Jones, aged 23, who works for South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue, put on a phenomenal show at Sheffield Arena in the latest episode of the series which aired on BBC One on Saturday, January 27.

She became the first female contender to pick up points in Duel this series, giving as good as she got against Diamond with her pugil stick and lasting the full 30 seconds to secure five points.

Bronte told how she hoped her ability to work 'under pressure' thanks to her firefighter training would stand her in good stead.

And that seemed to be true as she also impressed in The Ring, securing eight points against Fury, before picking up nine points in terrifying aerial challenge The Edge.

'My 10-year-old daughter was screaming for you'

She picked up maximum points in The Gauntlet and in The Wall to give herself a handy seven-second head start in The Eliminator obstacle course, where she went head-to-head with fellow contender Alex, a civil servant for the Ministry of Defence.

She stormed through the Eliminator, including the daunting Travelator, to seal her spot in the quarter-finals, joining Sheffield steelworker Jake Spence, who made it through his heat the previous week.

In a message shared by South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue, Bronte said: "See you in the quarter finals! Thanks for all the support."

Her superhuman efforts won great admiration, with Rich Davies commenting 'smashed it', and Wendy Wells writing: "You were amazing! Like a rat up a drainpipe on most challenges. You looked strong, confident and loved that you said you enjoyed it."

Trevor Bernard called her a 'great advert for SYFR and the fire service as a whole', while Andrew Kerr said: "Awesome job Bronte, my 10 year old daughter was screaming for you in every event."