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Gladiators: Everything we know about the new BBC reboot
Meet the new Gladiators on the block! Top row, left to right: Legend, Fire, Bionic, Diamond, Nitro. Second row, left to right: Electro, Giant, Steel, Apollo, Comet. Third row, left to right: Viper, Athena, Fury, Phantom. Bottom row, left to right: Sabre, Dynamite
Gladiators fans, ARE YOU READY?! A new series of the iconic sporty gameshow is coming to our screens soon, and we’ve got all the info you need to know about it!
Gladiators is a TV series which sees contenders compete against ‘Gladiators’ in a series of fun sporty challenges, to win a prize.
The new show will feature 16 Gladiators – super sporty athletes whose job it is to try to stop the contenders from winning – as well as referees to keep things fair, and a live audience to cheer the challengers on.
Filming for the new series has started this week in Sheffield, and the BBC have said the show will be available to watch on Saturday evenings later this year on BBC One and iPlayer.
Find out more about the show and the gladiators below…
What was the original Gladiators?
The origional Gladiators from the 1992 UK series
You might have heard your parents, or even grandparents, talking about the show, well that’s because it was first on telly a long time ago!
The original American Gladiators series was created by Johnny C. Ferraro and Dan Carr and was broadcast in the US in 1989.
The sports entertainment show became so popular they made a UK version, which aired on UK TV screens in 1992, with presenters Ulrika Jonsson and John Fashanu as the hosts and John Sachs as the commentator (who you might recognise as the voice over from Dancing on Ice).
It ran for eight seasons before finishing in 2000.
Gladiators was then brought back for a short run by Sky between 2008-2009, with Ian Wright, Kirsty Gallacher and Caroline Flack as hosts.
Meet the new Gladiators
(From left to right) Fire, Athena, Electro and Fury will be trying to stop the challengers
Trying to stop the contenders from completing the challenges in the BBC series will be 16 new Gladiators.
Each Gladiator has a special nickname which describes them.
This year they are: Legend, Fire, Bionic, Diamond, Nitro, Electro, Giant, Steel, Apollo, Comet, Viper, Athena, Fury, Phantom, Sabre and Dynamite.
Many of the Gladiators are elite athletes, including Fire, who was a former Team GB Sprinter and Olympic Bobsledder who held the British woman’s record for fastest 100m sprint at 11.05 seconds.
(From left to right) Phantom, Viper, Nitro and Giant will also be tryign to stop the challengers from succeeding
Giant stands at a whopping 6ft 5in and made history by becoming one of the all-time tallest bodybuilders, and Legend is a former Championship bronze medal-winning long and triple jumper and silver medal winning power-lifter.
Athena has represented Team GB and is the winner of three Gold and two Silver Commonwealth Powerlifting medals.
Professional rugby player and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu British Champion ‘Fury’ is the show’s first deaf Gladiator.
Meet the referees
Mark, Sonia and Lee will be keeping things fair and square as the referees
Contenders Ready! Gladiators Ready! As well as the Gladiators and the competitors there are also the referees, whose job it is to start and end the challenges, and make sure everything is fair – things can get a bit crazy out there!
Former Premier League Football referee Mark Clattenburg, former English international netball player Sonia Mkoloma and fitness professional, firefighter and athlete Lee Phillips will be picking up their whistles to keep the challenges on track.
Classic challenges from the original series will be back including ‘Duel’ – where players stand on small platforms and have to knock each other off using sticks, ‘Hang Tough’, ‘Powerball’, ‘The Wall’ and the legendary ‘Eliminator’.
Who are the hosts?
Bradley Walsh and his son Barney will present the show
The new hosts of the show will be father and son duo Bradley and Barney Walsh.
You might recognise Bradley Walsh from the quiz show The Chase, or from being The Doctor’s friend in the 2018 series of Doctor Who.
Barney is Bradley’s son and is an actor who has starred in a number of TV series.
Speaking about their new presenting roles, Bradley Walsh said: “Wow! I can’t believe that I’ve been asked to be part of this iconic show. I used to sit backstage, or in the audience, every week watching my wife be part of this juggernaut and now I get to co-host a new version of GLADIATORS!!!
“Saturday night family entertainment at its best… ARE YOU READY?!”
Barney added: “Gladiators has been a massive part of our family and it’s an honour to be asked to co-host this iconic show. I’m so excited for everyone to see the spectacle, elite athletes and fantastic family entertainment that is GLADIATORS.”
Will you be watching Gladiators? What do you think about the new series? Let us know in the comments…
