She had previously told BBC London it had “just been so fun to rep the flag of south London, of Croydon”.
For Emily, being from Croydon and having the area’s support had been an important part of the journey.
“I just love the community,” she said.
“Community is important, sometimes it does lack, especially in big cities, so it’s been really nice now to bring community together.”
Emily said her mother had been fairly instrumental in making sure all of Croydon knows that she’s on Gladiators.
“My mum will tell a rando in the supermarket, and then they’re invested, and they’ll tell someone else, and they’ll tell someone else and that little chain of supporters and community grows, and oh, I just love it.”
Josh McDonald won the men’s competition.