David Farnor | On 13, Jan 2024

Contenders, ready! Gladiators, ready! Those words haven’t been spoken on TV since the turn of the millennium (we don’t talk about the short-lived reboot on Sky) and the joy of hearing them again is that they haven’t changed since Gladiators stormed into living rooms on ITV in the 1990s. As ITV continues to build its reality TV empire on Love Island, I’m a Celeb and various music contests, BBC One has smartly poached one its rivals best formats – and then fine-tuned it by barely tweaking it all.

The new Gladiators is the same as the old Gladiators: we watch as a bunch of physically impressive contestants attempt to go toe to toe with a horde of physically terrifying Gladiators, a 16-strong team of beefcakes made of 110% beef, 210% sweat, 300% hard work and a whole lot of muscle.

The series pitches the ensuing showdown as the ultimate test of speed and strength. The truth is a little sillier than that, as we watch adults climb on top of very tall pillars and hit each other with oversized cotton buds (Duel), attempt to swing across a sea of hula hoops on the ceiling without being dragged to the ground (Hang Tough) or run through a gauntlet while navigating the brawniest pillow fight you’ve even seen (Gauntlet). There are some new games added to the list this time round – and several favourites sadly not returning (sorry, Atlasphere fans) – but they all climax with the Eliminator: a fiendish obstacle course race that ends with running up the sloping conveyor belt of the Travelator (the worst supermarket checkout incident imaginable).

It’s a superb balancing act between absurd and plausibly dangerous – the equivalent of letting grown-ups come up with playground games where they’re allowed to hit each other. Overseeing it all are Bradley and Barney Walsh, a duo who are less exciting than the iconic old duo of Ulrika Jonsson and John Fashanu, but have a charisma that’s impossible to resist – add to the inevitable second season Alison Hammond, Claudia Winkleman or AJ Odudu and you’d have a perfect presenting team. As it is, there’s enough humour to deflate the gym-tactic spectacle, while still drawing out the human side of the contestants and their opponents.

And, as the title suggests, they’re the real stars of the whole show. The new bunch of Gladiators are a wonderfully cast collection of specimens, from could-be-the-next-Superman Apollo to Fury, the first ever deaf Gladiator. The key roles of the old guard are all filled nicely, from the new Hunter (Bionic) and new Jet (Comet) to Wolf’s villainous replacement, Viper. Together they’re a force to be reckoned with, and the show succeeds in celebrating and being a little bit intimated by them – enough to either inspire kids watching to sign up to their nearest gym or run a million miles in the other direction.

Commenting enthusiastically on the action is football veteran Guy Mowbray, while the key instructions are shouted with gusto by ex-Premier League ref Mark Clattenburg. The result is the same but different, without being too different, hitting the nostalgic sweet spot bang on target. Get ready for this to be a massive hit.

Gladiators airs at 5.50pm on Saturdays on BBC One.

Add to Watchlist