Gladiators' future revealed by BBC in big announcement after ratings success

The BBC have revealed the future ofGladiators, after reviving the hit 1992 show in January 2004 - and fans will be over the moon.

Gladiators, is set to return in 2026 for another unmissable series on the BBC - but that's not all. Following huge success, the show is also set to launch a brand-new Celebrity Special.

Bradley and Barney Walsh will be back to host as Saturday Night Superheroes Apollo, Athena, Bionic, Comet, Cyclone, Diamond, Dynamite, Electro, Fire, Fury, Giant, Hammer, Legend, Nitro, Phantom, Sabre, Steel, and Viper will also return.

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Filming will once again take place Sheffield arena, and next year, the competition promises to be hotter than ever with brand new events. Plus four more brave celebrities will be taking on the test.

The news comes after the BBC's revival of the hit became the most watched Saturday night series on BBC iPlayer and the 3rd most watched Entertainment series overall. The show averaged 5.3m viewers, with nearly two fifths streaming on demand.

The revival of the show has also capture younger viewers with 1.3 million tuning in for each episode, accounting for nearly a quarter of the show's overall audience.

Speaking on the news, 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!”

The news comes after rumours Gladiators star Nitro is tipped to be joining the Strictly Come Dancing line-up later this year. The 36-year-old, whose real name is Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, has some prior experience on the hit BBC show, having taken part in the 2024 Christmas special.

He impressed judges with his partner Nancy Xu, 33, scoring an impressive 37 points for their Street/Commercial performance. A source told The Sun: “Bosses have been desperate to get Nitro on the series for a while. They were in talks last year but couldn’t get the timings to marry up with his work."

“He was a huge hit at Christmas prancing around in lycra and showing off his biceps. Producers were also impressed with his dancing."

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