Gladiators | |
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Series 1 | |
Starring | Bradley Walsh Barney Walsh Mark Clattenburg Sonia Mkoloma Lee Phillips Guy Mowbray |
No. of episodes | 11 |
Release | |
Original network | BBC One |
Original release | 13 January – 30 March 2024 |
Series chronology |
The first series of Gladiators aired in the UK in Spring 2024 on BBC One, [1] [2] and is also available on video on demand platform BBC iPlayer. [3] The series was filmed in June 2023 at Sheffield Arena. [4]
The show is presented by Bradley Walsh and his son Barney Walsh, with Mark Clattenburg, Sonia Mkoloma and Lee Phillips acting as the referees. [5] [6] The voiceover commentary is provided by Guy Mowbray. [7]
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. [8] The entire series averaged with nearly 10 million total viewers, making it confirm its second series for the following year. [9]
Males | Females | ||||
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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 [a] | 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) | 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 [b] | Sheli J. McCoy | 5 ft 7 in, 154 lb (1.70 m, 70 kg) |
The colours Red & Blue denote the colours worn by the contender. The winning contenders are marked in bold. As the series concists only from 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 | |||
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Heat 1 | Myles Harris | Finley Burkitt | Kerry Wilson | Tasha Lawrence | |
Heat 2 | Jake Spence | John Darwen | Zoe McIntosh | Marie-Louise Nicholson | |
Heat 3 | Finlay Anderson | Ashley Harwood | Alex McKnight | Bronte Jones | |
Heat 4 | Matt Jones | Chung Leung | Sharan Riyat | Nia Rutter | |
Heat 5 | Dev Pankhania | Paul Campbell | Tuathlaith Murtagh | Betti Worth | |
Quarter Final 1 | Finley Burkitt/Wesley Malé [a] | Finlay Anderson | Tasha Lawrence | Bronte Jones | |
Quarter Final 2 | Jake Spence | Chung Leung | Marie-Louise Nicholson | Nia Rutter | |
Quarter Final 3 | Dev Pankhania | Ashley Harwood | Kerry Wilson | Betti Worth | |
Semi Final 1 | Dev Pankhania/Jake Spence [b] | Finlay Anderson | Betti Worth | Bronte Jones | |
Semi Final 2 | Wesley Male | Chung Leung/Matt Jones [c] | Kerry Wilson | Marie-Louise Nicholson | |
Final | Wesley Male | Finlay Anderson | Marie-Louise Nicholson | Bronte Jones | |
Winners | Finlay Anderson | Marie-Louise Nicholson |
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.
No. overall | No. in series | Title | BBC One airdate | UK viewers (millions) [10] | Weekly Rank [10] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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1 | 1 | "Heat 1" | 13 January 2024 | 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. [11] [12] [13] [14] Events of the first heat include the returning games Duel, Gauntlet, and Hang Tough, with two new games called Collision and The Ring. The two winners of this heat, Finley and Kerry, progress to the quarter finals. [15]
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2 | 2 | "Heat 2" | 20 January 2024 | 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. [16]
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3 | 3 | "Heat 3" | 27 January 2024 | 6.48 | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The third heat, with contenders are Bronte Jones, a 23-year-old firefighter from Sheffield; [17] 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. [18] Events Duel, Gauntlet, The Wall, The Ring and The Edge are played, in addition to The Eliminator. The two winners of this heat, Bronte and Finlay, progress to the quarter finals. [18]
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4 | 4 | "Heat 4" | 3 February 2024 | 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 debut in Hang Tough, in so far her last appearance in this series. Other played events include Duel, Powerball and The Wall. The two winners of this heat, Chung and Nia, progress to the quarter-finals. [19]
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5 | 5 | "Heat 5" | 10 February 2024 | 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. 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. [21]
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6 | 6 | "Quarter Final 1" | 17 February 2024 | 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, took his place for the quarter-final and competed for the place in the semi-finals. The first of the quarters consists from events Duel, The Wall, The Ring, The Edge and Gauntlet. The two winners of this quarters, Wesley and Bronte, progress to the semi-finals. [22]
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7 | 7 | "Quarter Final 2" | 24 February 2024 | 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 the events Powerball, The Wall, The Edge, Gauntlet and Duel. The two winners of this quarters, Chung and Marie-Louise, progress to the semi-finals. [23]
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8 | 8 | "Quarter Final 3" | 2 March 2024 | 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 The Ring, Collision, and Hang Tough for the last time in this series. The two winners of this quarters, Dev and Kerry, progress to the semi-finals. [24]
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9 | 9 | "Semi Final 1" | 9 March 2024 | 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 finals. However, Dev had to withdraw from the competition due to injury and was replaced by Jake, the next fastest male runner-up. Powerball, Duel, Gauntlet, The Wall 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 had been recorded prior to the injury. The winners of the semi are Finlay and Bronte. [25]
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10 | 10 | "Semi Final 2" | 23 March 2024 | 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. During the fourth event, Powerball, 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 episode also sees Sabre's last appearance during the series, and Dynamite appearing in 4 different events, which is more than any other Gladiator has participated in a single episode. The winners of this semi final are Wesley and Marie-Louise, who advance to the final. [26] NOTE: For the reason of Matt being reinstated following Chung's injury, the latter's scores in events 1 to 3 will be reflected as if Matt were competing.
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11 | 11 | "The Final" | 30 March 2024 | 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. Former Gladiators legend Saracen, Mike Lewis, appeared on the audience for the finale. The winners were crowned as Marie-Louise and Finlay. [27] [28] At the end of the show, it was announced that the casting for the contenders of series 2 was open. [29]
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Color key:
Contenders | Episodes | |||||||||||
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Heats | Quarter Finals | Semi Finals | Final | |||||||||
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | ||
Marie-Louise | — | WIN | — | WIN | — | WIN | WINNER | |||||
Finlay | — | WIN | — | FF | — | WIN | — | WINNER | ||||
Bronte | — | WIN | — | WIN | — | WIN | — | RUNNER-UP | ||||
Wesley | — | WIN | — | WIN | RUNNER-UP | |||||||
Matt | — | OUT | — | OUT | — | |||||||
Kerry | WIN | — | WIN | — | OUT | — | ||||||
Chung | — | WIN | — | WIN | — | WDR | — | |||||
Jake | — | WIN | — | FF | — | OUT | — | |||||
Betti | — | WIN | — | FF | OUT | — | ||||||
Dev | — | WIN | — | WIN | WDR | — | ||||||
Ash | — | FF | — | OUT | — | |||||||
Nia | — | WIN | — | OUT | — | |||||||
Tasha | FF | — | OUT | — | ||||||||
Finley | WIN | — | WDR | — | ||||||||
Paul | — | OUT | — | |||||||||
Tuathlaith | — | OUT | — | |||||||||
Sharan | — | OUT | — | |||||||||
Alex | — | OUT | — | |||||||||
John | — | OUT | — | |||||||||
Zoe | — | OUT | — | |||||||||
Myles | OUT | — | ||||||||||
Weekly ratings for each show on BBC One. Ratings are provided by BARB Audiences [10]
Episode | Date | Weekly viewers (millions) | Weekly rank (BBC1) | Weekly rank |
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Heat 1 | 13 January 2024 | 8.36 | 1st | 1st |
Heat 2 | 20 January 2024 | 7.01 | 4th | 4th |
Heat 3 | 27 January 2024 | 6.48 | 5th | 5th |
Heat 4 | 3 February 2024 | 6.58 | 3rd | 4th |
Heat 5 | 10 February 2024 | 5.83 | 6th | 8th |
Quarter Final 1 | 17 February 2024 | 5.89 | 5th | 7th |
Quarter Final 2 | 24 February 2024 | 5.48 | 4th | 6th |
Quarter Final 3 | 2 March 2024 | 5.41 | 4th | 5th |
Semi Final 1 | 9 March 2024 | 4.55 | 3rd | 6th |
Semi Final 2 | 23 March 2024 | 5.27 | 4th | 4th |
The Final | 30 March 2024 | 5.39 | 3rd | 3rd |
Series average | 2024 | 6.02 | – | - |