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Gladiators to return to TV next year
25 August 2022, 15:32 | Updated: 25 August 2022, 15:37
Gladiators is set to make a triumphant return to UK television next year, 13 years after it last appeared on our screens.
Gladiators will return to TV next year, it has been confirmed.
The show, which was a huge hit in the 1990s, last aired on UK television in 2009.
The original series, hosted by John Fashanu and Ulrika Jonsson, ran on ITV from 1992 to 2000 before it was bought back by Sky between 2008 and 2009.
Gladiators Wolf, Jet, Hunter, Cobra, Saracen, Warrior, Rhino and Lightning found fame on the original show.
Now, the competition of strength and speed will return on BBC One with filming beginning at Utilita Arena in Sheffield in 2023.
The new Gladiators series will have 11 episodes and will showcase a "new generation of super-humans", the BBC said in a statement.
BBC Director of Unscripted Shows, Kate Phillips, said: "Gladiators is back and a whole new generation of viewers can now look forward to watching a Saturday night spectacle like no other.
"Will the contenders have the will and the skill to succeed against our mighty new Gladiators? You'll have to tune in to find out."
Holly Willoughby's husband Dan Baldwin, who is the managing director of Hungry Bear – the company producing the new series – said in a statement: "It's the perfect time for Gladiators to return.
"What other show combines electric excitement, superheroes, giant sponge fingers, elite athletes, and a pinch of pantomime?
"Watch out for the new breed of superhuman, supersized, superstars bursting onto your screens on BBC One and iPlayer."
