The first series of Gladiators aired in the UK in Spring 2024 on BBC One, and is also available on video on demand platform BBC iPlayer. The series was filmed in June 2023 at Sheffield Arena in the city of Steel.
The show is presented by Bradley Walsh and his son Barney Walsh, with ex-premier league Mark Clattenburg, Sonia Mkoloma and Lee Phillips acting as the referees. The voiceover commentary is provided by sports commentator Guy Mowbray.
The premiere episode of the rebooted Gladiators attracted a total audience of 6 million viewers, and became the biggest entertainment launch of the network in seven years. The entire 11-part series averaged with nearly 10 million total viewers on BBC One, making it confirm its second series for the following year.
In May 2023, the following 16 elite athletes, such as professional bodybuilders or Olympic athletes were revealed as the cast of the rebooted series of Gladiators.
The colours red and blue used below denote the colours worn by the contender. The winning contenders are marked in bold. As the series consists of only five heats, and three quarter finals, in addition to the winners of the previous episodes, the fastest runner-ups advance to the next stage as wildcards (marked with WC).
The first rebooted series of Gladiators consisted from 8 preliminary events, from which 5 were played in each episode. The final obstacle course The Eliminator is played at the end of each episode.
The series saw the return of the following events, in order of appearance:
In addition, three new games appear. In order of appearance:
Note, that the episodes may not be filmed in the order of broadcast, e.g. the heat rounds may be in different order, or the second semi final was recorded before the first.
Color key:
Two of the female Gladiators were injured during the filming of the series. Comet (Ella-Mae Rayner) sustained several bone fractures in her legs in several places â including the talus â as well as sustaining a Lisfranc injury, three ruptured ligaments, and a dislocated bone, when competing in her speciality event Hang Tough in aired Heat 4. Sabre (Sheli McCoy) also injured her hamstring as a result of her attempt to push contender Bronte off The Edge in Semi-Final 1. Owing to these incidents both of the Gladiators had to go on hiatus for the remainder of the series. Male Gladiator Bionic (Matty Campbell) also made fewer appearances during the season due to minor shoulder- and leg injury.
In January 2024, upon the series premiere, the BBC discovered past use of anabolic steroids by Gladiator Giant (Jamie Christian-Johal) from a 2022 YouTube video, which the video has since been deleted. The Gladiator himself stated that he has not been in contact with any kind of "performance enhancing drug" since his professional career ended. The BBC 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. Consequently, it was reported that Giant would still return for the second series of the show.