Gladiators winner Josh McDonald prepares for live tour while championing kinship carers

Glasgow fitness coach and Gladiators winner Josh McDonald is preparing to compete again on the programme’s live tour, due to open in Aberdeen this weekend, according to a BBC interview published on 7 October 2026. The 29-year-old also wants to use the attention from his win to highlight kinship care, following his appointment as an ambassador for the charity Kinship. His return to the arena is a confirmed plan; his hope of becoming one of the show’s Gladiators remains an ambition.

McDonald won the third season of Gladiators, which was filmed in Sheffield last year and aired earlier in 2026. The BBC reported that the tour will give him another chance to take on events including Duel, Gauntlet and The Wall. Four shows in his home city of Glasgow were scheduled for later in October, giving local audiences a chance to see him compete after his television victory.

How Josh McDonald is preparing for the Gladiators tour

The tour presents a different challenge from his television run. McDonald told the BBC he was concentrating on general fitness because he could not simply practise an event such as Duel in a gym. He had also visited a local climbing centre to prepare for The Wall, the event he said caused him the most trouble during the programme. He recalled doing well in training but making mistakes when the event counted, and said he was determined to improve on the tour.

His route to the television title had already involved a second chance. The BBC reported that McDonald was eliminated in the first round, then returned at the next stage after another contestant was injured. He went on to beat Tyler Spence, a teacher from Wigan, in the final. McDonald described the programme as one of the highlights of his life and said he was excited by the prospect of reliving the experience in Scotland.

Why kinship care matters to McDonald

McDonald’s family circumstances have shaped what he wants to do with his public profile. His mother, Clare, died in 2024 after a long illness, before he was offered a place on Gladiators. He became guardian to his younger brother Max. McDonald told the BBC that, after the loss and the change in responsibility, he returned to training partly to prove he could still compete and to give Max something to cheer about.

The BBC interview described McDonald’s new responsibilities as a major change in his life. He recalled watching Gladiators with his mother when he was growing up. The programme’s eventual victory therefore carried a personal weight beyond the trophy. He also said becoming Max’s guardian had been the toughest challenge he had faced, describing how quickly his role in the family changed after Clare died.

In May, Kinship announced that McDonald had become an ambassador for the organisation. Kinship describes kinship carers as relatives or family friends who take care of children when their parents cannot. McDonald said he had felt isolated as a carer and had not initially known the term ‘kinship carer’. He hoped that speaking publicly would help other families recognise their circumstances and find support.

Kinship said McDonald intended to press for better recognition and support for such families. Its chief executive, Lucy Peake, said his experience of raising his brother made him well placed to speak for carers. The charity also noted that a previous Gladiators winner, Joe Fishburn, who was raised by his grandmother, had become an ambassador. McDonald said their different experiences gave them a shared connection to kinship care.

What the charity says about support for kinship families

Kinship puts the number of children in kinship care across England, Wales and Scotland at more than 153,800, over twice the number in foster care. That is the charity’s stated figure. It says most kinship carers receive little or no financial help with the costs of raising a child and do not have a statutory entitlement to employment leave when they take on that responsibility. Those descriptions are part of Kinship’s case for more support, rather than independently verified findings in this report.

For McDonald, the tour and the ambassador role are separate ways of using the visibility that followed his win. The BBC reported the Aberdeen opening and Glasgow dates as forthcoming plans; the published accounts do not establish that those shows have already taken place. His wish to become a Gladiator is similarly open-ended. What is established is his planned return as a competitor and his existing role with Kinship.