A FITNESS instructor-cum-topless waiter caught the eye as he made the semi-finals of a televised assault course game show.

Lea Stephenson (29), well known across the district as an instructor at the gym at Hexham’s Wentworth Leisure Centre, made his way to the final 50 of the national ITV show Ninja Warrior UK .

And viewers of the show saw him in a different guise as he tackled the testing course wearing nothing but a dicky bow tie and hot pants in the style of a topless waiter!

Lea, a long time member at Tynedale Harriers, showed great speed and strength to reach the next stage of the show presented by Ben Shephard and former footballer Chris Kamara.

The premise of the programme is to put qualifiers from earlier rounds over a tough obstacle course, with the fastest 50 from the heats making their way to fight for a place in the final 15.

While Lea failed to complete the entire distance as he was unable to hold onto the cargo net following the swing, his time at that stage was the quickest which earned him a place in the next round.

He said: “It was great to get through to the semi-finals as thousands of people across the country entered, so it’s good to make the final 50.

“I was a bit annoyed to have fallen off, but I was fast up to that point which meant I made it through.”

Supporters of Lea now face a wait to find out if he progressed to the final as the two semi-finals shows of Ninja Warrior UK are not due to be broadcast until late January or early February. The show features on Saturday evenings at 7pm.