Two new stars and the return of the “legendary” Atlaspheres. Gladiators is back with a new series from its Sheffield home.
The Utilita Arena Sheffield has been its base since the show switched to the BBC in 2023.
A few years ago, hosting a major Saturday night show outside of London would be almost unheard of. That trend was broken in 2017 when MediaCity’s dock10 “owned” Saturday nights, by hosting both The Voice (ITV) and Let It Shine (BBC) as they went out head-to-head.
READ MORE: MediaCityUK “owns” Saturday nights as ITV and BBC go head to head
Indeed Gladiators broke Let It Shine’s record with the biggest launch for a new entertainment show, drawing 8.7m viewers compared to Let It Shine’s 6.3m.
“Sheffield featuring as the home of the Gladiators on primetime, Saturday night television, is huge for the city for many reasons,” Councillor Martin Smith, Chair of the Economic Development and Skills Committee at Sheffield City Council told Prolific North.
“It helps to boost Sheffield’s reputation and exposure as a major, vibrant city, increasing people’s willingness to visit, invest, live, work or do business here, which in turn drives economic value and generally makes the city a better place to live for everyone.
“We know from research the impact of place branding and perception on economy. It suggests that a positive shift in perception equates to a significant rise in tourism and economic value.
“Something like this also increases awareness of Sheffield as a host city for big and major events, both through the TV coverage and through the millions of global video views of Gladiator across social media,” continued Smith, who sadly refused to be drawn on his favourite character:
“I think they are all great and I can’t wait to watch on Saturday!”
READ MORE: Sheffield to be marketed as leading European destination
Onto Series 2. Hosted again by Bradley and Barney Walsh, it will see the arrival of 2 new Gladiators – 23 year old Irish Powerlifter, Cyclone; and 32-year old World Rowing Champion, Hammer, who comes from Nottingham.
Plus there are two more events, one is the return of fan favourite, the Atlaspheres, as Bradley Walsh explained:
“Atlaspheres, which fans of the original series will remember. The Contenders and Gladiators are inside huge metal hamster balls – the contenders need to roll themselves over set points in the arena to score points, whilst the Gladiators smash into them to try to stop them.”
The new event is called Unleash, over again to Walsh:
“The contenders start in a smoke filled tunned and race around a track and up some steps to grab the winning flag, but an unknown Gladiator is unleashed behind them trying to chase them down.
“You’re going to love it!”
Gladiators is made by Hungry Bear and MGM Alternative UK, the original American Gladiators series was created by Johnny C. Ferraro and Dan Carr.
The arrival of the second series coincides with a new operator running Sheffield’s Utilita Arena. As of this month, ASM Global is taking over management of the venue, having won a competitive pitch in February last year.
READ MORE: Upgrades underway as ASM Global takes on Sheffield Arena and City Hall
Until December, it was run by Sheffield City Trust and ASM Global has promised significant investment. ASM has a worldwide network of 350 venues, including AO Arena in Manchester, First Direct Arena in Leeds and York Barbican.
Chris Bray, President of ASM Global Europe said Chris “our ambition is to reimagine the venues, delivering world-class live entertainment in Sheffield.”