A Fan-Favorite Competition Series Is Finally Getting Revived
Gladiators is coming back to England on the BBC.
Deadline reported that BBC will be reviving the British reality competition series Gladiators, which itself is a version of the American series that ran from 1989 through 1996. The revival will be hosted by Doctor Who star Bradley Walsh along with his son Barney Walsh. The two have previously hosted the traveling show Bradley & Barney Walsh: Breaking Dad, and Donna Walsh, Bradley’s wife and Barney’s mother, was the head choreographer for the ‘G-Force’ cheerleaders on the original show.
The BBC version of Gladiators will be the second British TV revival after Sky One aired a brief two-season revival in 2008 and 2009 with Ian Wright, Kirsty Gallacher, and Caroline Flack hosting. This coincided with the 2008 American revival, which featured Hulk Hogan and Laila Ali as hosts.
The BBC revival of Gladiators is produced by Hungry Bear and MGM Television UK and will follow the familiar format of ‘superhumans’ competing in challenges of speed and strength to come out on top. The series will debut new challenges along with classic, fan-favorite games like Duel and The Eliminator. Filming of the series is set to take place this year in Utilita Arena Sheffield.
The BBC revival of Gladiators has commissioned eleven sixty-minute episodes so far. Depending on the revival’s success, we could likely see more episodes commissioned in the future. On top of these announcements, two competitors dubbed ‘Fury’ and ‘Steel’ were also announced.
Fury is the Gladiators nickname for professional Exeter Chiefs rugby player Jodie Ounsley, whose father was a contender on the 2008 version of the show. Some of Jodie’s other accolades include being a former England Women’s Rugby Seven’s player, a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu British Champion, and a five times World Coal Carrying champion. She was also named the Deaf Sports Personality of the Year in 2020.
Steel is the Gladiators nickname for UK CrossFit star Zack George, who has ranked 26 out of 126,461 on the global CrossFit leader board. Zack was also named Fittest Man of the Year in 2020. As always, there is sure to be some incredibly fierce competition in the series, and plenty of top competitors will be vying for the top spot.
As for the American Gladiators revival, the most recent update was back in 2021 when it was announced that MGM would be teaming with WWE to reimagine the series with WWE superstars competing. Before that, MGM, Johnny, Ferraro, Seth Rogen, and Evan Goldberg attempted to put together a reboot in 2018 that didn’t make it to air. With years passing since the announcement in 2021, it seems like the WWE version might have met the same fate.
Fortunately, the BBC revival of Gladiators does exist, and fans will be able to tune in to BBC and BBC One to catch it. At this time, there’s no word on an official release date yet for the return of the reality competition series, but it’s set to come out before 2023 is over. We’ll keep you updated once an official release date is announced.
