Gladiators is a British television series which began airing on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on 13 January 2024. It is the second revival of the original 1992 Gladiators series on ITV, after the 2008 series on Sky One. The series is produced by Hungry Bear Media and MGM Alternative UK.
The series is presented by Bradley Walsh and his son, Barney.[1] Each episode consists of four players, known as 'contenders' – two male and two female – competing in a series of physically challenging events against the show's resident 'Gladiators', a group of elite athletes – like bodybuilders or track and field athletes – and eventually competing in one final event, the Eliminator. The series consists of the heats, the quarter-finals, the semi-finals and a grand final, to determine the overall champions. It is refereed by Mark Clattenburg, assisted by Sonia Mkoloma and Lee Phillips, with voice-over commentary provided by Guy Mowbray.
Upon its release, the revived series of Gladiators became one of the most successful family entertainment launches for the BBC in 7 years, attracting over 6 million viewers during its premiere episode, and scoring nearly 9 million during the whole first series.[2]
The original LWT series of Gladiators aired between 1992 and 2000 on ITV[3] and its first revival aired on Sky One in 2008 and 2009.[4] In July 2022, it was reported that the BBC were in talks with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, who hold the rights to the original format, to relaunch the show on BBC One.[3] The BBC later announced that the revival, produced by Hungry Bear Media and MGM Television, would air in 2023.[5]
The casting for the new contenders took place across England,[6][7] Scotland,[8] and Northern Ireland[9] in April 2023. The following month it was announced that Bradley Walsh would co-host the revived series alongside his son Barney.[1] Donna Walsh, Barney's mother and Bradley's wife, was head choreographer for the "G Force" troupe of cheerleaders on the 1992 series. Bradley also has previous connections to the show, having taken part in a "Celebrities vs Jockeys" special episode of the programme in 1997.[1]
Filming of the programme took place at the Sheffield Arena, in the city of Steel, which previously hosted the 1995 live shows for the original ITV series, in June 2023.[10] Tickets to attend filming of the series were free. Applause Store, the company who oversaw ticket distribution, stated that there was an "unprecedented demand" for tickets and the venue reached its 3,000 capacity earlier than anticipated, which led to ticketholders being denied entry.[11] In a statement, Applause Store said that entrance would be on a "first-come first-served" basis dependent on capacity, and that there was no guarantee of admission to the venue.[11]
Two Gladiators sustained injuries during filming of the first series. Comet (Ella-Mae Rayner) broke her ankle and foot, and Sabre (Sheli McCoy) tore her hamstring.[12][13]
Gladiators Giant (Jamie Christian-Johal), Nitro (Harry Aikines-Aryeetey), Fury (Jodie Ounsley), and Fire (Montell Douglas) made an appearance during the Strictly Come Dancing finale in mid-December 2023, where Fire stated that the programme would premiere in early 2024.[14]
The first official trailer of the show was released on 25 December 2023,[15] showing both new and classic events.[16] On 3 January 2024, the BBC announced that the series would premiere on 13 January at 5.50 pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.[17] The revival of Gladiators attracted an audience of 6 million viewers, becoming the biggest entertainment launch for the BBC in seven years.[2] Due to the ratings success, the BBC bosses announced that they have been planning for the next series, which was filmed in August 2024 at the Sheffield Arena, and airing in early 2025.[18] According to a BBC boss, there will be some adjustments to the flow of the game, and some new events for the second series, but all of the Gladiators from the first series were set to return.[19] The casting for the contenders of the second series closed in June 2024.[20]
The format of Gladiators follows that of the previous series, where two men and two women compete against the Gladiators before taking on each other on the Eliminator obstacle course.[4] The series follows a knock-out tournament format of preliminary heats leading to finals.[21]
The rebooted series of Gladiators saw the return of the following events: Hang Tough, The Wall, Powerball, Duel,[22] and Gauntlet.[23]
New events in the first rebooted series include Collision, in which contenders try to cross a bridge while avoiding the Gladiators who swing across on trapezes; The Edge, in which contenders and Gladiators undertake a cat and mouse chase on an elevated grid;, and The Ring, in which contenders try to hit a sensor in the centre of a large court without being tackled by a Gladiator.[16][24]
The second series, airing in 2025, will see some more returning events from both the 90s and "noughties" shows, and possibly totally new events, in addition to reworking on already existing games like Gauntlet.[19]
The revamped series of Gladiators is being hosted by father-son duo Bradley and Barney Walsh (known as Bradley & Barney).[1]
The show's resident Gladiators are a group of elite athletes from the different fields of athletics; from bodybuilders to CrossFit athletes and Olympic Games champions. Throughout May 2023, the 16-strong roster of Gladiators were announced on Morning Live and The One Show, among other media outlets. Profiles were also released on the BBC Media Centre website.[25]
During January 2024, the BBC had discovered the steroid use of Gladiator Giant (Jamie Christian-Johal) from a YouTube video from 2022. The video has since then been deleted, and the Gladiator himself stated that he hasn't been in contact with any kind of "performance enhancing" drug since his professional career ended. The network also stated that upon the casting for the Gladiators and Contenders, they had to complete multiple tests in case of any prohibited steroid-use; the tests were negative for all of the Gladiators.[28] Despite the "scandal", Giant, and the rest of the cast is expected to return for a second series of the show, which is set to air in 2025.[29]
The youngest Gladiator of the current lineup is Dynamite (Emily Steel), at the current age of 21. Athena (Karenjeet Kaur Bains) is one of the all time shortest Gladiators at 5 feet 4 inches. Respectively, Gladiator Diamond (Livi Sheldon) is the tallest of the females, at 6 feet. Male Gladiators Apollo (Alexander Gray) and Bionic (Matty Campbell) both stand at 6 feet 6 inches.
On the show, Gladiator Fury (Jodie Ounsley) is stated to be the first-ever deaf Gladiator. She has a cochlear implant, which helps her to hear despite the medical condition.[30] The actual first-ever deaf Gladiator in the show's international history was the late American Gladiator Siren (Shelley Beattie) from the 90's. Fury's father, Phil competed in the 2008 series as a contender.[31]
Two of the female Gladiators were injured during the filming of the first series. Comet (Ella-Mae Rayner) sustained several bone fractures on her legs in several places – including the talus – as well as sustaining a Lisfranc injury, three ruptured ligaments, and a dislocated bone, when competing in her speciality event Hang Tough in Heat 4. Sabre (Sheli McCoy) also mildly injured her hamstring as a result of her attempt to push contender Bronte off The Edge in Semi–Final 1. Due these incidents both of the Gladiators had to go on hiatus from the series.[12][13] During the training sessions for the second series, Nitro (Harry Aikines-Aryeetey) picked up a "knee injury", and therefore could not participate in the events. He is however featured in the programme and was attending the filmings.[27]
The main referee is Mark Clattenburg, a former international football referee who adjudicated the 2012 Men's Olympic football final, the 2016 Champions League and European Championship finals. He was also the referee for the 2023 Sidemen Charity Football match.[32] Clattenburg is supported by Sonia Mkoloma, a former international netball player who competed at five Netball World Cups and three Commonwealth Games, and Lee Phillips, a fitness professional and firefighter who won gold medals in the Ultimate Firefighter and CrossFit events at the 2017 World Police and Fire Games.[25]
Voiceover commentary is by Guy Mowbray, who previously commentated for the European Championships and the Premier League, as well as the EA Sports FC video game franchise.[33]
The first series premiered on 13 January 2024, and ran through the first quarter of the year.[17][34] It featured eleven 60-minute long episodes.[35]
The series became a ratings success on the BBC network, with the series averaging 6.02 million viewers,[2] with the series constantly ranking in the Top 10 weekly most viewed shows on the channel.[36]
The second, 11-part series was commissioned by the BBC, following to the ratings success of the first series.[54] The series is being filmed in August of 2024, during the span of multiple weeks,[55] and is set to air from early 2025.[2][18] The series is also set to have a "one-off" Celebrity Special.[56]
The series received positive reviews, with The Guardian describing it as a "phenomenal reboot" of its original show.[21] In a highly positive thinkpiece, The Independent praised the show's updated sensibilities, writing: "The entire show is a testament to the fact that we can still enjoy those things from our youth, and that 'updating them for a modern audience' doesn’t mean ripping out the heart of what made them appealing in the first place."[59] On his The Rest Is Entertainment podcast, Richard Osman praised the casting and described the series debut as a "smash hit".[60]
Ulrika Jonsson, who presented the original programme, said the reboot had done a "good job" overall, but criticised the absence of cheerleaders that had been used in previous iterations of the show, stating that the cheerleaders brought "another level" to the production.[61]
The show's official Instagram account, which covers exclusive and behind the scenes footage, has gathered over 61,500 followers to date.[62]