The BBC has supposedly made a decision about what will happen to the reboot of a game show from the 90s called Gladiators, hosted by Bradley Walsh and his son Barney Walsh.
The game show came back with a bang earlier this year with a fresh lineup of Gladiator stars including Fire, Legend, and Phantom, who have faced a brave group of challengers in the ultimate test off screens for over ten years of speed, skill, stamina, and strength.
Having been off screens for more than a decade, the revival has been a ratings success with an average of 6 million tuning into the debut episode.
A total of 8.7 million also watched in its first seven days making it the biggest entertainment launch for the BBC in seven years.
It’s no surprise, then, that it has been claimed that Gladiators has been commissioned for a second season by the BBC.
The broadcaster’s boss Tim Davie in his speech at the Royal Television Society yesterday even alluded to the show’s continuation.
He said: ‘It means that we will, despite budget pressures, prioritise big national
occasions – from the Coronation, Eurovision, the Proms and Glastonbury, to the
Olympics and the Euros, or Strictly or Gladiators, Children in Need or even that
great drama: Election Night.’
When approached by Metro.co.uk about future series of Gladiators, the BBC declined to comment.
While the BBC has yet to confirm more Gladiators, a show source told The Mirror: ‘Everyone is delighted that Gladiators has won over a new generation of fans. Are we ready for a second outing? You bet we are.’
The next part will be filmed during the school holidays in August at the Sheffield Arena for the second time, the publication claims.
Up Next
There are also rumors bosses are eyeing up a celebrity spin-off with Bradley himself having starred in a starry edition of Gladiators in 1997.
However, the reboot has not gone down with everyone with former Gladiators star Cobra claiming that Bradley and Barney are not the ‘right fit’ for the series. for the series.
‘I’ll have to watch a little more, but after initially seeing them, I’m not sure if was the right fit,’ he said.
Asked about his other thoughts on the reboot, Cobra, real name Michael Willson, added to The Daily Star: ‘The outfits… They’re really unflattering and just horrible really. I thought they could have done a lot more with them.’
Cobra isn’t the only former Gladiator star to reveal their thoughts on the reboot, with the show’s former presenter Ulrika Jonsson blasting one ‘woke’ change when the revival began.
Discussing the show on Lorraine, Ulrika admitted that while a preview for the new series ‘brought tears to my eyes’ as she reminisced on the music and ‘general feel’ one thing was missing.
‘No cheerleaders!’ she explained. ‘I just don’t understand it. I don’t understand if it’s some kind of wokery.’
The final episode of Gladiators will be shown on the BBC on Saturday.
Finlay Anderson, Wesley Male, Bronte Jones, and Marie-Louise Nicholson will compete to decide who will be named the ultimate gladiator.
Gladiators was first shown from 1992 to 2000 on ITV before being brought back by Sky between 2008 and 2009.
Metro.co.uk has reached out to the BBC for comment.
Gladiators will be on next Saturday at 5.50pm on BBC One.
