In a world of reboots and revamps came the new Gladiators, and to everyone's delight it's an absolute treat. It turns out that the return of Gladiators is exactly what we needed to see on our TV screens. Naturally, now everyone wants to know about the new Gladiators cast, and how they compare to the OGs!
Hosted by Bradley Walsh and his son Barney Walsh, fans have hailed the new series as 'unashamed fun' and have been watching in their droves. In fact, six million viewers tuned in for the very first episode. Honestly, who doesn't want to watch people get smashed in the face with a giant Q-tip?
And whilst we're desperately missing Jet and Shadow, the new Gladiators definitely have the potential to become icons in their own right. So, who exactly are the new gladiators? With Google Trends showing tons of search for 'new female gladiators' and 'new gladiators UK cast', we've broken down everything you need to know about the new Gladiators you'll be watching every week...
Introducing the new Gladiators cast in the UK:
Apollo
Coming in at 6ft 6 is Apollo, who describes himself as 'like Superman, but with a sense of humour.'
Speaking about the new Gladiators set he shares, 'It honestly gave me goosebumps when I first saw the Arena. Everything was just so epic, from the Rings to the Travelator. Everyone watching will be very happy to know that this series of Gladiators has a very similar feel to the original show, but with an extreme facelift. Audiences are going to be blown away by how cool it all is.'
Athena
Athena may be small, but she's definitely mighty - able to lift 175kg which is the equivalent of 1875 tins of soup!
Speaking about her powerful persona Athena says, 'Athena’s name comes from the Greek goddess of war and wisdom. She’s very classy yet composed, quite stoic and carries herself in a regal manner. I like to outsmart the contenders and try to be one step ahead of them, but I'll give them props if they beat me to something, that’s only fair!'
Bionic
Describing his character as 'a machine', Bionic hails from Middlesborough and has a bicep measuring 48cm (we didn't ask him that... apparently it's important to know!)
Speaking about his favourite games on Gladiators Bionic reveals, 'Duel and Gauntlet. They require a lot of strength and power, but I think people will be surprised when they watch me on Collision. I'm more than just a big brute who will knock you off a podium… but I will do that too.'
Comet
Some fun facts about Comet: she loves to walk on her hands and her key attributes are her flexibility, strength and being dynamic.
When asked why she wanted to become a Gladiator, Comet reveals, 'Being a Gladiator is like being a real-life superhero, it’s every child's dream to be a strong and powerful superhero. I am already in sport and fitness, so being a Gladiator encompasses everything that I am, and everything that I’ve worked towards, so it’s incredibly cool to be a Gladiator.'
Diamond
Diamond is 6ft and can squat an impressive 120kg - which is apparently like standing up with a jaguar on your back.
According to Diamond herself, her strongest character traits and physical strengths are 'her strength and her power, and she’s also incredibly quick too. Diamond, is unbreakable; she’s strong, powerful, and versatile.'
Dynamite
Another small but might Gladiator - she can lift 160kg which is the equivalent of 6.5 bags of cement in one go - is Dynamite.
Speaking about why she wanted to become a Gladiator, Dynamite shares, 'As a young athlete I felt like it was an opportunity to inspire young girls and make them think, "Oh, I can go to the gym, I can train and be just as strong". I’ve done sport all my life, so I felt like it was giving me an opportunity to showcase my sporting talents and hopefully inspire others too.'
Electro
Hailing from Essex, Electro's key attributes are her strength, skill and determination.
Summing up the rebooted series Electro reveals, 'I would use the term nostalgia. This series reflects the original series, but in an amped up modern way. It gives that nod to the original series but while also being something completely different. I feel like the Gladiators all look very different to the original Gladiators line up in terms of representation and having different stories and different backgrounds.'
Fire
Fiery by name, fiery by nature, Fire is one fast Gladiator who can run 100m in 11.05 seconds.
Describing her character, Fire says that her name is hugely important to her admitting, 'Fire is a fireball, a firecracker. She is a bundle of laughs and fierceness. She’s playful, fun but does not hold back or take any prisoners in gameplay. She will not go easy on you, but has lots of compassion.
'She has a heart of fire, and that burns strong, and that comes out in her personality but also in her gameplay, sportsmanship, and compassion for contenders. She is a crowd pleaser and loves the interaction with the audience and experience of Gladiators. She is a weapon.'
Fury
A former rugby player, Fury is the first ever deaf Gladiator and describes her disability as a superpower, something her fans have really related to.
She explains, 'I was especially touched because some deaf kids came to watch the show and they’d made banners, saying they were deaf too and wanted to be a Gladiator now because of Fury, and that made me feel really proud to represent the deaf community on such a cool show.'
Giant
Another well-named Gladiator is Giant who comes in at 6ft 5 and has biceps measuring 52cm.
A fan of the original Gladiators, Giant says, 'Hunter was my favourite from a young age. That was because he came across as a genuine guy with a good sense of humour and was great at being a Gladiator. I think he was actually named the ultimate Gladiator by the end of the original series.
'My favourite female Gladiator was Panther. Fun fact for you: Panther and I became friends through a bodybuilding federation, which I did from my early 20s into my early 30s.'
Legend
One of the maddest facts of the new Gladiators so far comes from Legend who can apparently triple jump over 50 feet - that's longer than a double decker bus.
When asked what it was like working with Barney and Bradley Walsh, Legend shares, 'They were awesome; really great. Barney is a really nice guy and Bradley is such a professional. You can tell he's been working in the industry for a long time as no thing phases him. He could just pull stuff out and be funny all the time. They were both really fun to work with.'
Nitro
Coming in at just under 6ft, Londoner Nitro describes himself as 'pure energy'.
He explains, 'Nitro is explosive by nature and he does everything with a smile on his face. Nitro’s there to bring the good vibes. He's not shy. He's bringing that energy for the contestants as well as for himself.
'The crowd fuels him, so if you give him energy, he gives you energy back. That's what he is, one big ball of energy. He's world class energy. He's dancing and if he's not dancing, then he's performing, and if he's not performing, then he's taking someone down.'
Phantom
Phantom apparently has the longest wingspan of all of the new Gladiators, coming in at two metres.
Describing his character, Phantom says, 'Phantom is a mysterious, elusive character that is a hybrid of all the Gladiators as well. I’m like a trump or Joker card, because if you think about all the things that I'm good at, everyone else has as their main strength.
'So, for example, Nitro is really fast, but I'm fast as well. Giant’s really big, and I'm big as well. You’ve got other factors like the strength of Bionic and Apollo, I’m as strong as them both. You’ve got Steel who's like unbreakable, I'm unbreakable too. You've got the cheekiness of Legend, sometimes my cheekiness comes. You’ve got the bad boy Viper, sometimes my bad boy side comes out.'
Sabre
Hailing from Scotland, Sabre describes her Gladiators character as 'playful, athletic [and] energetic'.
A fan of the original Gladiators series, Sabre reveals that she always dreamed of being included in the line-up saying, 'I was a very little, hopeful girl and my mum and dad loved Gladiators. I would get my hair washed on a Saturday and sit down and my mum would brush and plait my hair while we all watched Gladiators. I remember Powerball, The Wall. I remember Jet and Lightning, and Nightshade. And I genuinely remember feeling that these women were superheroes; they were the female version of Superman and everyone loved them. I remember thinking that I didn't think women were allowed to be sporty and into fitness and have muscles and win and be unapologetically athletic, and that's what they were, these women were unapologetically athletic.
'The men were huge too. Hunter was like my Ken doll but double the size. I remember thinking that they were the gods in the world and somehow the TV had found them, and it was doing a game show with them. But I was very, very inspired by the athletic women. And I remember thinking, if only that was possible for me.'
Steel
With a name like Steel, it's no surprise that Steel is a very strong Gladiator who can lift 220kg aka 3.5 washing machines.
Describing his character Steel says, 'Steel is Mr Nice Guy. He’s always smiling and very friendly, but when the game starts, he's an absolute machine. If he loses then he’ll lose graciously and say ‘well done’ to the contenders, but he’s not going to lose very easily.'
Viper
And last, but certainly not least in the new Gladiators line-up is Viper - the self-described 'baddie' of the series.
A man of few words, when asked to describe his character and what people can expect from them Viper merely says, 'Viper is mean, moody, sneaky and powerful.'
What channel is the new Gladiators on?
You can watch Gladiators live on BBC One or catch-up using BBC iPlayer.
When does the new Gladiators air?
The first episode of Gladiators aired Saturday 13 January, with subsequent episodes (there will be 11 in total) airing every Saturday at 5.50pm.
Who are the hosts of the new Gladiators?
The Chase's Bradley Walsh hosts Gladiators alongside his son Barney Walsh.
Speaking about why he decided to take on the role of presenter for the rebooted series Bradley shares, 'My wife, Donna, was involved in the original series running the cheerleading G Force and was an associate producer on the show so I used to visit her and watch the show being made and when my son, Barney was born it was still on air, so we used to take him to watch the show.
'I took part in Gladiators as a celebrity years ago in 1997, I wasn’t really a celebrity back then as I only had a few jobs under my belt and think I had to fill in for someone. It was a family affair for us and so when the team at Hungry Bear spoke to us and said they were looking for a family appeal to the show and asked if we would we like to host it, and we jumped at the chance.'
What are the viewing figures for the new Gladiators?
For the first episode, TV viewers peaked at 6.4 million people on BBC One according to overnight ratings, with an average of six million viewers across the episode.
What are the reviews for the new Gladiators?
Generally everyone has been pretty complimentary about the rebooted Gladiators with The Guardian rating the series four stars and saying, 'This camp, sweaty, Saturday-night entertainment is a sugary old-school rush' whilst The Telegraph wrote, 'Who cares if the BBC have merely rebooted a former ITV hit? Gladiators is great fun for the whole family – and there's new villains galore.'
Less positive reviews of the new Gladiators claim not much has changed since the original series, but honestly. If it ain't broke...