The Sheffield Arena is ready for battle once again as the ultimate test of speed and strength, Gladiators, is set to return in 2026 for another unmissable series on the BBC plus a brand-new Celebrity Special.
Bradley and Barney Walsh will once again oversee proceedings as Saturday Night Superheroes 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 South Yorkshire.
The competition promises to be hotter than ever with brand new events to look forward to plus four more brave celebrities will be taking on the toughest test on TV as they enter the arena in a bid to prove they have the power to succeed and emerge victorious.
Made by Hungry Bear Media and MGM Alternative UK, a division of Amazon MGM Studios, Gladiators has quickly become a Saturday night sensation averaging 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 has also continued to capture the hearts of younger viewers with 1.3 million tuning in for each episode so far – accounting for nearly a quarter of the show’s overall audience. It remains the most-watched title for this demographic across the entertainment market.
Kalpna Patel-Knight, head of entertainment at the BBC said: “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 added: “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 promised that Series 3 will be “bigger and better than ever. He added: “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.”
Viewers can stream all available episodes of Gladiators and add the show to their watchlist now on BBC iPlayer.
Free tickets to attend the recordings for all shows will be available to request on the external Applause Store website from 24 June 2025.
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 Patel-Knight. The executive producers are Dan Baldwin and Lou Brown for Hungry Bear, and Dom Bird and Barry Poznick for MGM Alternative UK. 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.
