The BBC has confirmed a 2026 series of Gladiators along with a new Celebrity Special.
Bradley and Barney Walsh will once again oversee proceedings as Gladiators Apollo, Athena, Bionic, Comet, Cyclone, Diamond, Dynamite, Electro, Fire, Fury, Giant, Hammer, Legend, Nitro, Phantom, Sabre, Steel, and Viper return to “showcase their power, agility and bold banter against the courageous contenders in front of the packed-out arena crowd in Sheffield.”
Made by Hungry Bear Media and MGM Alternative UK, a division of Amazon MGM Studios, Gladiators averaged 5.3m with nearly two fifths streaming on demand, making it the most watched Saturday night series on BBC iPlayer and the 3rd most watched Entertainment series overall. Gladiators is also the most-watched title for younger viewers across the entertainment market.
Kalpna Patel-Knight, Head of Entertainment at the BBC says: “Audiences have loved getting together to watch our mighty Gladiators take on contenders from all across the UK with younger fans especially excited to cheer on their Saturday night superheroes. With this brand-new series and another Celebrity Special confirmed there will be even more epic battles, more high-octane action and of course even more foam fingers than ever before for everyone to look forward to!”
Dan Baldwin, Managing Director of Hungry Bear Media says: “We have been absolutely blown away by the reception Gladiators has received from families up and down the country. It has become a HUGE part of Saturday night viewing on the BBC. We are extremely excited to deliver another series, so expect even more spandex, hairspray, protein shakes and fake tan this summer in Sheffield!”
Dom Bird, SVP, MGM Alternative, International says: “Gladiators is such an iconic and well-loved show, we are all delighted to see it capturing the imagination of BBC audiences. Series 3 will be a true celebration of strength, spirit, and entertainment and is already shaping up to be bigger and better than ever.”
Gladiators (11 x 60’) and Gladiators Celebrity Special (1 x 60’) are a Hungry Bear and MGM Alternative UK, a division of Amazon MGM Studios, production for BBC One and BBC iPlayer and were commissioned by Kalpna Patel-Knight, Head of Entertainment Commissioning at the BBC. The Executive Producers are Dan Baldwin and Lou Brown for Hungry Bear, and Dom Bird and Barry Poznick for MGM Alternative UK, a division of Amazon MGM Studios. The Commissioning Editor for the BBC is Clodagh O’Donoghue.
The original American Gladiators series was created by Johnny C. Ferraro and Dan Carr and developed by Johnny C. Ferraro.
Staff Reporter
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