Gladiators (2024 British TV series)

For the 2024 Australian TV series, see Gladiators (2024 Australian TV series).

Gladiators
Genre	Game show
Created by	Dan Carr John Ferraro
Presented by	Bradley Walsh Barney Walsh
Starring	Mark Clattenburg Sonia Mkoloma Lee Phillips Gladiators
Voices of	Guy Mowbray
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	11 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Dan Baldwin Lou Brown Dom Bird
Producers	Reshmi Bajnath James Pratt
Production location	Sheffield Arena
Running time	60 minutes
Production companies	Hungry Bear Media MGM Alternative UK
Original release
Network	BBC One
Release	13 January 2024 (2024-01-13) – present
Related
Gladiators (1992–2000) Gladiators (2008–2009)

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. 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.

Production

Background and development

The original LWT series of Gladiators aired between 1992 and 2000 on ITV and its first revival aired on Sky One in 2008 and 2009. 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. The BBC later announced that the revival, produced by Hungry Bear Media and MGM Television, would air in 2023.

The casting for the new contenders took place across England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland in April 2023. The following month it was announced that Bradley Walsh would co-host the revived series alongside his son Barney. 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.

Filming and release

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. 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. 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.

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.

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.

The first official trailer of the show was released on 25 December 2023, showing both new and classic events. 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. The revival of Gladiators attracted an audience of 6 million viewers, becoming the biggest entertainment launch for the BBC in seven years. 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. 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. The casting for the contenders of the second series closed in June 2024.

Format

Further information: Gladiators (1992 British TV series) § Format

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. The series follows a knock-out tournament format of preliminary heats leading to finals.

Events

Main article: List of Gladiators UK events

The revived series of Gladiators saw the return of the following events: Hang Tough, The Wall, Powerball, Duel, and Gauntlet.

New events in the first revived 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.

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.

Cast and crew

Presenters

The revamped series of Gladiators is being hosted by father-son duo Bradley and Barney Walsh (known as Bradley & Barney).

Gladiators

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.

Male Gladiators

Alias	Real name	Age	Stats	Background	Entry theme
Apollo	Alex Gray	33	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 249 lb (113 kg)	Former Rugby union and NFL player	"Are You Gonna Go My Way" – Lenny Kravitz
Bionic	Matty Campbell	28	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 260 lb (120 kg)	Bodybuilder, former sprinter and footballer	"Galvanize" – The Chemical Brothers
Giant	Jamie Christian-Johal	39	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 280 lb (130 kg)	Former IFBB Pro bodybuilder and firefighter, and fitness coach	"Giant" – Calvin Harris and Rag'n'Bone Man
Legend	Matt Morsia	38	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 212 lb (96 kg)	Bodybuilder, powerlifter, and former PE teacher, long and triple jumper	"The Best" – Tina Turner
Nitro	Harry Aikines-Aryeetey	36	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 187 lb (85 kg)	Team GB Commonwealth, World, and European Sprinting Champion	"The Power" – Snap!
Phantom	Toby Olubi	37	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 249 lb (113 kg)	Team GB Olympics bobsledder and former sprinter	"In for the Kill" – La Roux
Steel	Zack George	34	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 236 lb (107 kg)	Elite CrossFit athlete	"Pass Out" – Tinie Tempah
Viper	Quang Luong	35	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	Bodybuilder, actor and boxer	"Trouble's Coming" – Royal Blood

Female Gladiators

Alias	Real name	Age	Stats	Background	Entry theme
Athena	Karenjeet Kaur Bains	28	5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) 148 lb (67 kg)	Commonwealth, All-England and British Powerlifting Champion	"Unfinished Sympathy" – Massive Attack
Comet	Ella-Mae Rayner	29	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	Fitness model and former elite gymnast and cheerleader	"Levitating" – Dua Lipa
Diamond	Livi Sheldon	30	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 176 lb (80 kg)	Footballer-turn-bodybuilder and personal trainer	"Woman Like Me" – Little Mix featuring Nicki Minaj
Dynamite	Emily Steel	21	5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)	Elite CrossFit athlete, weightlifter and National Swimming Champion	"Bang Bang" – Jessie J, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj
Electro	Jade Packer	26	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 154 lb (70 kg)	Sports model, coach and "hybrid-style" athlete	"Light It Up" – Major Lazer featuring Nyla
Fire	Montell Douglas	38	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 148 lb (67 kg)	Team GB multi-sports Olympian with sprinting and bobsleigh	"Stop This Flame" – Celeste
Fury	Jodie Ounsley	23	5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) 163 lb (74 kg)	Former Rugby union player, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu and National Coal Carrying Champion	"Bad Habits (Bring Me the Horizon remix)" – Ed Sheeran
Sabre	Sheli McCoy	36	5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) 154 lb (70 kg)	British Weightlifting and CrossFit Championships Champion	"Let's Go" – Zayde Wolf

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. 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.

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. 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.

Injuries

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.

Referees

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. 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.

Commentator

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.

Episodes

Series overview

Series overview

Series	Episodes		Originally aired		Series Champions	Runners-Up	Average viewers (millions)
			First aired	Last aired
1	11		13 January 2024 (2024-01-13)	30 March 2024 (2024-03-30)	Marie-Louise Nicholson & Finlay Anderson	Bronte Jones & Wesley Male	6.02
2	12		2025 (2025)	2025 (2025)	TBA	TBA	TBA

Series 1 (2024)

The first series premiered on 13 January 2024, and ran through the first quarter of the year. It featured eleven 60-minute long episodes.

The series became a ratings success on the BBC network, with the series averaging 6.02 million viewers, with the series constantly ranking in the Top 10 weekly most viewed shows on the channel.

No. overall	No. in series	Title	BBC One airdate	UK viewers (millions)	Weekly Rank
1	1	"Heat 1"	13 January 2024 (2024-01-13)	8.36	1
The series begins, with four contenders taking on the new Gladiators. The contenders are Finley Burkitt, a 22-year-old railway trackman from Doncaster; Myles Harris, a 32-year-old DJ and IT engineer from Leeds; Tasha Lawrence, a 41-year-old nurse and personal trainer from Ipswich; and Kerry Wilson, a 34-year-old dogwalker from Dunfermline. Events of the first heat are returning games Duel, Gauntlet, and Hang Tough, with two brand-new games called Collision and The Ring. The two winners of this heat, Finley and Kerry, progress to the quarter finals.
2	2	"Heat 2"	20 January 2024 (2024-01-20)	7.01	4
The second of the heats, in which four new contenders take on the Gladiators. The contenders are John Darwen, a 31-year-old occupational therapy student from Preston; Jake Spence, a 23-year-old steelworker from Sheffield; Zoe McIntosh, a paramedic in the West Midlands; and Marie-Louise Nicholson, a 28-year-old fitness coach from Dublin. Events include returning contests Powerball and The Wall, as well as a new game – The Edge – in which Gladiators chase the contenders on a platform thirty feet (9 m) above the arena floor. Two Gladiators make their debut – Bionic in Duel, and Comet in The Wall. The two winners of this heat, Jake and Marie-Louise, progress to the quarter finals.
3	3	"Heat 3"	27 January 2024 (2024-01-27)	6.48	5
The third heat, with contenders are Bronte Jones, a 23-year-old firefighter from Sheffield; Alex McKnight, 29-year-old civil servant; Finlay Anderson, a 34-year-old army officer from Edinburgh; and Ashley Harwood, a 28-year-old salesman from London. Events like Duel, Gauntlet and The Ring are played, in addition to the Eliminator. The two winners of this heat, Bronte and Finlay, progress to the quarter finals.
4	4	"Heat 4"	3 February 2024 (2024-02-03)	6.58	3
Contenders for the fourth heat are Matt Jones, a 41-year-old civil servant from Cardiff; Chung Leung, a 33-year-old software engineer from London; Sharan Riyat, a 33-year-old dentist from Buckinghamshire; and Nia Rutter, a 37-year-old stay at home mum from Blackpool. In this heat, Gladiator Comet makes her Hang Tough -debut in so far her last appearance in the series. Other played events include Duel, Powerball and The Wall. The two winners of this heat, Chung and Nia, progress to the quarter-finals.
5	5	"Heat 5"	10 February 2024 (2024-02-10)	5.83	8
The last of the heats. Contenders for the fifth heat are Tuathlaith Murtagh, a 29-year old activity manager from Belfast; Betti Worth, a 31-year old gym fitness trainer from Bolton; Dev Pankhania, a 30-year old HGV mechanic from Essex;, Paul Campbell, a 57-year old salesman from Sheffield. Notable is, that one of the male contenders, Paul, is one of the all-time oldest contender in the program's entire history, at the age of 57 when filmings took place. All of the brand-new events, Collision, The Edge and The Ring are played, amongst classical ones. The two winners of this heat, Dev and Betti, progress to the quarter finals.
6	6	"Quarter Final 1"	17 February 2024 (2024-02-17)	5.89	7
The quarter finals begin. Contenders for this episode are Finley and Tasha from Heat 1, the latter qualifying as the fastest female runner-up from the heats; and Finlay and Bronte from Heat 3. However, as contender Finley was injured during the heat, a standby contender, Wesley Male, took his place for the quarter-final and competed for the place in the semi-finals. The first of the quarters consists from events like Duel, The Ring and Gauntlet. The two winners of this quarters, Wesley and Bronte, progress to the semi-finals.
7	7	"Quarter Final 2"	24 February 2024 (2024-02-24)	5.48	6
The second of the quarter finals. Contenders are Jake and Marie-Louise, the winners of Heat 2, and Chung and Nia, from Heat 4 respectively. The second of the quarters consists from events such as Powerball, The Wall and The Edge. The two winners of this quarters, Chung and Marie-Louise, progress to the semi-finals.
8	8	"Quarter Final 3"	2 March 2024 (2024-03-02)	5.41	5
The last of the quarter finals. The contenders are: Dev and Betti from Heat 5, Ash from Heat 3, who qualified as the fastest male runner-up and Kerry from Heat 1. The events played include Collision, The Ring, and Hang Tough for the last time in this series. The two winners of this quarters, Dev and Kerry, progress to the semi-finals.
9	9	"Semi Final 1"	9 March 2024 (2024-03-09)	4.55	6
The first of the semi finals. Quarter-final winners Dev and Bronte, as well as the fastest runners-up Finlay and Betti, competed for the place in the Grand Final. However, Dev had to withdraw from the competition due to injury and was replaced by Jake, the next fastest male runner-up. In addition to the Eliminator, events like Powerball, Duel and The Edge are played in this episode. Gladiator Sabre injured herself on The Edge and had to retire from this series, although appeared in Semi Final 2 as her game in that had been recorded prior to the injury. The winners of the semi are Finlay and Bronte.
10	10	"Semi Final 2"	23 March 2024 (2024-03-23)	5.27	4
In the last semi final, battling for the final places for the Grand Final are male contenders Wesley and Chung, and female contenders Kerry and Marie-Louise. Events of this semi final include Duel, The Wall and Powerball, in which contender Chung injured himself and had to withdraw from the competition. He was replaced by Matt, the competitor who lost to him in the heats, for the remainder of the competition. The winners of the semi are Wesley and Marie-Louise. The episode also marks Sabre's last appearance during the series, and Dynamite being booked for 4 different events. The winners of this semi final are Wesley and Marie-Louise, who advance to the final.
11	11	"The Final"	30 March 2024 (2024-03-30)	5.39	3
The Series Champions are crowned here. The male finalists are Wesley Male and Finlay Anderson, and female finalists are Marie-Louise Nicholson and Bronte Jones. Events of the final are Gauntlet, Duel, The Edge, The Wall and Collision. The winners were crowned as Marie-Louise and Finlay. An ex-Gladiator Saracen (Michael Lewis) made an cameo appearance in the crowd for the final with his wife. At the end of the show, it was announced that the casting for the contenders of series 2 was open.

Series 2 (2025)

The second, 11-part series was commissioned by the BBC, following to the ratings success of the first series. The series was filmed in August 2024 at the Sheffield Arena, and is set to air from early 2025. The series is also set to have a "one-off" Celebrity Special.

No. overall	No. in series	Title	BBC One airdate	UK viewers (millions)	Weekly Rank
TBA	TBA	"Celebrity Special"	TBA	TBD	TBA
Competing in a "one-off" Celebrity special are stand up comedian Rob Beckett, TV presenter and triathlete Louise Minchin, presenter and comedian Joel Dommett and Ted Lasso -star Ellie Taylor.
TBA	TBA	"Heat 1"	2025 (2025)	TBD	TBA

Reception

Critical reception

The series received positive reviews, with The Guardian describing it as a "phenomenal reboot" of its original show. 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." On his The Rest Is Entertainment podcast, Richard Osman praised the casting and described the series debut as a "smash hit".

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.

The show's official Instagram account, which covers exclusive and behind the scenes footage, has gathered over 61,500 followers to date.

Awards and nominations

Year	Group	Award	Nominated	Result	Ref(s)
2024	National Television Awards	The Bruce Forsyth Entertainment Award	Gladiators, Series 1	Longlisted

Merchandise

Gladiators: Ready!, The Official Companion Book

Bloomsbury Publishing releases an official companion book for the hit tv-series in hardback on 7th November 2024. It includes extended amount of behind-the-scenes details of the show, including training- and eating/dieting routines of the Gladiators themselves - with one chapter dedicated for each of the 16 current Gladiators - and more deep-in details about the show itself, including stats, etc.

External links

• Gladiators at BBC Online
• Gladiators at IMDb
• Gladiators at UKGameshows.com
• Gladiators on Instagram