Gladiators (2024 British TV series) series 3

Gladiators
Series 3
Starring	Bradley Walsh Barney Walsh Mark Clattenburg Sonia Mkoloma Lee Phillips Guy Mowbray
No. of episodes	12
Release
Original network	BBC One
Original release	25 December 2025 (2025-12-25) (Celebrity special)
Original release	17 January 2026 (2026-01-17)
Series chronology
← Previous Series 2

The third series of Gladiators is set to be aired in the UK from 17 January 2026 on BBC One. It was recorded in the summer of 2025 at the Sheffield Arena. ^{[1] [2]}

The third series was announced by the BBC after the growing attention and the success of the second series in 2025. ^{[3] [4] [5] [6]}

It is once again being hosted by Bradley and Barney Walsh, and being refereed by Mark Clattenburg with the assistance of Sonia Mkoloma and Lee Phillips. ^[7]

It was also set to air another edition of Celebrity Special episode with four new celebrity contenders. Joe Wicks, Sam Thompson, Vogue Williams and Nicola Adams were announced as the new Celebrity lineup. ^[8] The special was aired on Christmas Day. ^{[9] [10]}

In December 2025, following his divorce from ex-spouse, male gladiator Giant reverted his last name to his birth name, Bigg. However, as the series was filmed in the summer of 2025, he is still enlisted here as Christian-Johal, his previous double-barrel surname. ^[11]

Gladiators

Further information: Gladiators (2024 British TV series) § The Gladiators

All of the 18 Gladiators from the previous two series are set to return this series. Nitro (Harry Aikines-Aryeetey) is set to return from his hiatus on Series 2 after suffering an knee injury before the filmings of the series, as is Giant (Jamie Christian-Johal), who was seen just briefly in the previous series due to biceps injury. ^{[1] [7] [12]}

Males			Females
Gladiator name	Real name	Stats	Gladiator name	Real name	Stats
Apollo	Alex Gray	6 ft 6 in, 249 lb (1.98 m, 113 kg)	Athena	Karenjeet Kaur Bains	5 ft 4 in, 148 lb (1.63 m, 67 kg)
Bionic	Matty Campbell	6 ft 6 in, 260 lb (1.98 m, 120 kg)	Comet	Ella-Mae Rayner	5 ft 8 in, 146 lb (1.73 m, 66 kg)
Giant	Jamie Christian-Johal	6 ft 5 in, 280 lb (1.96 m, 130 kg)	Cyclone	Lystus Ebosele	5 ft 10 in, 209 lb (1.78 m, 95 kg)
Hammer	Tom Wilson	6 ft 6 in, 257 lb (1.98 m, 117 kg)	Diamond	Livi Sheldon	6 ft, 176 lb (1.83 m, 80 kg)
Legend	Matt Morsia	6 ft 1 in, 212 lb (1.85 m, 96 kg)	Dynamite	Emily Steel	5 ft 5 in, 141 lb (1.65 m, 64 kg)
Nitro	Harry Aikines-Aryeetey	5 ft 11 in, 187 lb (1.80 m, 85 kg)	Electro	Jade Packer	5 ft 8 in, 154 lb (1.73 m, 70 kg)
Phantom	Toby Olubi	6 ft 5 in, 247 lb (1.96 m, 112 kg)	Fire	Montell Douglas	5 ft 10 in, 148 lb (1.78 m, 67 kg)
Steel	Zack George	6 ft, 236 lb (1.83 m, 107 kg)	Fury	Jodie Ounsley	5 ft 7 in, 163 lb (1.70 m, 74 kg)
Viper	Quang Luong	6 ft, 200 lb (1.83 m, 90 kg)	Sabre	Sheli J. McCoy	5 ft 7 in, 154 lb (1.70 m, 70 kg)

Contenders

The winning contenders are marked in bold. As the series contains 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.

Episodes	Male Contenders			Female Contenders
Celebrity Special	Joe Wicks	Sam Thompson		Nicola Adams	Vogue Williams
Heat 1	Finn	Josh McDonald		Rachael	Naomi Church

Events

Main article: List of Gladiators UK events

In addition to the events from the previous series (Duel, Gauntlet, Hang Tough, Collision, Powerball, The Wall, The Edge, Unleash, Atlaspheres, Crash Course and The Eliminator), several brand new, and returning classics events are introduced on the third series;

• Destruction ^{[2] [13] [14]} is one of the entitled brand new games of the series. In this event, two contenders are facing one Gladiator, in a race to press the button at the center of the floor. To get to the button, they'll have to break through four 8 ft tall barriers, each phase using completely different techniques and/or gadgets.
• Everest is one of the brand new games of the series. In a game of tug-of-war on an elevated platform that tilts, the contender and the Gladiator must push a solid barrier in between them using raw force, so that the opponent will fall off the platform due to lack of space.
• Suspension Bridge is making its return from the original series. In the modified version of Duel on an unstable suspension bridge, the contenders must reach the other side of the bridge facing off against a gladiator using giant hammerhead-like foam weapons.

For this series, the balance beam section of the Eliminator has been changed to have way more technic difficulty to traverse it.

Episodes

No. overall	No. in series	Title	BBC One airdate	UK viewers (millions)  [15]	Weekly Rank  [15]
–	–	"Christmas Celebrity Special"	25 December 2025 (2025-12-25)	4.29	17th
Competing in the Christmas season's Celebrity Special edition are fitness coach Joe Wicks, TV personality Sam Thompson, presenter and media personality Vogue Williams and former Olympic boxer Nicola Adams. [8] [9]   Male Gladiators Giant and Nitro made returns in Duel and The Wall respectively, the latter being missed entirely in the previous series and the former after the fifth episode due to injuries. Legend, Diamond and Athena did not compete in this special. Event 1: Duel Male contenders Joe Wicks   vs. Viper (5-0) (5-0)   Sam Thompson vs. Giant Though Viper dispatched Joe off the podium, he actually went just before the starting whistle. Viper was disqualified for this and therefore Joe was rewarded 5 points. Female contenders Nicola Adams   vs. Fury (0-0) (0-0)   Vogue Williams vs. Sabre Fury was facing her childhood sporting hero, Nicola. Nicola forfeited the event after falling onto Fury's podium. Event 2: Collision Male contenders Joe Wicks   vs. Phantom, Apollo, Bionic & Steel (6-4) (11-4)   Sam Thompson vs. Phantom, Apollo, Bionic & Steel Following the men's event, Joe and Sam got into trouble with Giant and Phantom after messing around in the locker room. Female contenders Nicola Adams   vs. Sabre, Electro, Fire & Comet (10-6) (10-6)   Vogue Williams vs. Sabre, Electro, Fire & Comet Event 3: The Wall Male contenders Joe Wicks   vs. Nitro (0–10) (11–14)   Sam Thompson vs. Hammer Nitro's return event and Hammer's unofficial Wall-debut. Female contenders Nicola Adams   vs. Dynamite (0-0) (10-6)   Vogue Williams vs. Cyclone Cyclone's debut on The Wall. Event 4: Gauntlet Male contenders Joe Wicks   vs. Nitro, Steel, Phantom, Bionic & Apollo (10-8) (21–22)   Sam Thompson vs. Nitro, Steel, Phantom, Bionic & Apollo Though Sam crossed the finish line just as time ran out, he wasn't fully over the line and therefore only scored 8 points. Female contenders Nicola Adams   vs. Comet, Electro, Dynamite, Fury & Cyclone (10-10) (20-16)   Vogue Williams vs. Comet, Electro, Dynamite, Fury & Cyclone Comet's first shown outing on this event. Event 5: The Eliminator Male contenders Joe Wicks     Sam Thompson Entering the Eliminator, the score was 21–22. This 1-point lead gave Sam a 0.5-second head-start. Winner Joe Wicks Female contenders Nicola Adams     Vogue Williams Entering the Eliminator, the score was 20–16. This 4-point lead gave Nicola a 2-second head-start. Winner Vogue Williams
23	1	"Heat 1"	17 January 2026 (2026-01-17)	TBD	TBA
The heats begin. Gladiators Legend, Athena and Diamond are back, and a brand new event debuts. [16] Contenders for the episode are Finn, Josh, Rachael and Naomi. Fun fact: the episode is aired on gladiator Fury's birthday.

References

1. "Gladiators Series 3: Everything You Need to Know". GladiatotsTV. 24 June 2025.
2. "BBC Gladiators series 3 - Everything you need to know". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
3. "Gladiators 'Renewed for Third Series' on BBC One". TV Zone UK. 31 January 2025.
4. "GLADIATORS CONFIRMED FOR THIRD SERIES ON BBC ONE, APPLICATIONS OPEN". TV Zone UK. 15 March 2025.
5. "How to apply for Gladiators as BBC confirms third season". Messenger Newspapers. 15 March 2025.
6. "How to apply for Gladiators as BBC confirms series 3". The Bolton News. 15 March 2025.
7. "Gladiators series 3 and Celebrity Special confirmed". BBC Media Centre. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
8. "Four famous faces step into the arena for Gladiators Celebrity Special on BBC One and iPlayer". 29 July 2025. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
9. "BBC One – Gladiators, Celebrity Special". BBC.
10. Zone, T. V. (December 2, 2025). "BBC CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR SCHEDULE REVEALED, NEW AND RETURNING PROGRAMMING CONFIRMED". TV Zone UK.
11. "Gladiator Giant to revert to birth surname... Bigg". BBC News . 1 January 2026. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
12. "Leicestershire's BBC Gladiators star Steel to return to show after son's death". leicestermercury.co.uk. 24 June 2025.
13. "BBC Gladiators reveals explosive new game Destruction for series 3". BBC Media Centre. 13 January 2026.
14. "BBC Gladiators confirms 'most explosive event yet' in major series update". manchestereveningnews.co.uk. 13 January 2026.
15. "Weekly Top 50 Shows". BARB . Retrieved 1 January 2024.
16. "BBC One - Gladiators, Series 3, Episode 1". bbc.co.uk.