Gladiators, ready! The legendary sports gameshow that sees members of the public take on super-strong “Gladiators” in a series of physical challenges is getting a revival on the BBC – what a time to be alive. The new Gladiators will be presented by father-son due Bradley and Barney Walsh.
Gladiators captivated our Saturday nights in the nineties. The whole family huddled around a too-small television to watch Ulrika Jonsson and John Fashanu introduce four “contenders” (members of the public) who were going to take on the mighty Gladiators, in a show packed with shellsuits, tight lycra costumes, and Hairstyles with a capital H. By the time it reached the final round, aka The Eliminator, we’d all be screaming at the screen as contestants faced trapezes, a zipwire and the ultimate challenge: the travelator.
Fan favourites in the original Gladiators lineup included Wolf, Hunter, Jet and Lightning – but who will be the new generation of Gladiators when the show airs on the BBC later in 2023?
Fury
Exeter Chiefs Rugby Player Jodie Ounsley chose the name Fury because of her power and passion for competition. She might be just 22 years old, but she’s an absolute machine: as well as five years of professional rugby, including as an England Women’s Rugby Seven’s player, she’s also Brazilian Jiu Jitsu British Champion, five times World Coal Carrying champion, and won Deaf Sports Personality of The Year in 2020.
Gladiators runs in the family: her dad was a contender on the show’s first revival on Sky back in 2008, and a young Jodie began training to outdo him there and then, dressing up in a Gladiator costume and practising the games in her living room.
Steel
Leicester-born CrossFit athlete Zack George will take on the Gladiator name Steel thanks to his unbreakable strength. He certainly has the credentials for the name, winning the title of the UK’s Fittest Man in 2020, and in the same year placing 26th out of over 100,000 people on the global CrossFit leaderboard.
He hopes to inspire Gladiators’ new, younger fans to get fit, after he undertook his own fitness journey as a teenager, losing weight and going on to represent Leicestershire as a county athlete in rugby, squash and table tennis, before earning fame on social media as a CrossFit influencer.
Giant
6-foot-5 Jamie Christian Johal started his career as a firefighter, then earned the name Giant after he made history by becoming one of the world’s tallest bodybuilders.
He consumes over 6,000 calories a day to maintain his physique (same – ed), and once took on a 30-inch pizza in one sitting – how helpful that will be in the new series of Gladiators remains to be seen, but he’s certainly game for a challenge.
Fire
Olympian Montell Douglas earned the name Fire because of her fierce determination to destroy her competition – and she’s certainly shown plenty of that throughout her sporting career.
In fact, Montell made history last year when she became the first British woman to compete in different sports at both the Summer and Winter Olympics: first, she took on the 100 metre sprint at Beijing 2008, then she returned to Beijing in 2022 to represent Team GB in the two-woman bobsled.
She hopes Fire will help to inspire woman from all backgrounds to achieve their dreams.
Legend
Matt Morsia certainly works hard to earn his Legend nickname, earning medals in long jump and powerlifting during his international sporting career, before becoming a YouTube influencer and bestselling author of The 24/7 Body.
He also gives what is arguably the most “legendary” statement on being named as a Gladiator. While the others’ statements are more along “this is a dream come true” lines, Legend’s includes the claim “I could’ve spent the last two months eating doughnuts and playing Dungeons & Dragons and I’d still be better than everyone else” and confirms he’s “actively looking forward” to the “irreparable damage I’m about to do to the contenders.” One to watch, for sure.
Nitro
Sprinter Harry Aikines-Aryeetey chose the name Nitro to represent his speed and high energy, and you can’t argue that he doesn’t have the credentials, and then some.
Over the last decade, he’s picked up a whopping five gold medals in the 100-metre relay at both the European Championships and Commonwealth Games. Before that, he also won BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year in 2005 after becoming the first athlete to win gold for both the 100 and 200-metre races at the World Youth Championships. There’s not much that’ll get past Nitro…
Diamond
Livi Sheldon’s beauty and indestructibility earn her the name Diamond, and she likes to pass this strength and ability to “glow up” to other women in her work as an online fitness coach.
She’s also a 6-foot tall bodybuilder, turning childhood taunts about her height into one of her superpowers, and her passion for sports began when she insisted on joining the boys’ football team aged six, so she’s not to be messed with. She’s one of the younger and least-established Gladiators announced so far – but could she be the dark horse of the competition?
Sabre
Sheli McCoy chose the name Sabre because they’re both fierce, fearless, and ferocious! A Dundee gym owner and former Scottish champion in both CrossFit and weightlifting, she trains for up to 19 hours a week.
She’s also big on inspiring young girls to be confident, powerful athletes – something she does via her 100K-strong Instagram following – and cites the Gladiators as her own inspiration for this growing up.
Apollo
Like Legend, Alex Gray is backing himself from the start, choosing the name Apollo because of his speed and “cheeky good looks of a Greek god”.
He started out as a rugby player, including a three-year stint on the England 7s team, and then moved Stateside to become the first British rugby player to transfer to the NFL. Playing for the Atlanta Falcons, he also became the first international player to captain an NFL team, but he’s described becoming a Gladiator as “absolutely the greatest” thing he’s ever done.
Dynamite
20-year-old Dynamite’s statement on becoming a Gladiator begins “I’m too young to remember the original Gladiators”, so she’s off to a great start by savaging most of the country.
Her real name is Emily Steel, and she chose the name Dynamite because she’s “small, explosive and dangerous” (and presumably because Steel was already taken). Steel competed nationally as a swimmer until she was 15, and is now both a CrossFit athlete as well as studying full-time at university. Despite this punishing schedule, she also somehow recently found time to become a British record holder at an under-23s weightlifting competition.
Gladiators returns on the BBC later this year