Gladiators confirmed for BBC One return

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 series on the Beeb 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 arena crowd in Sheffield.

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.

2024 winners with hosts Bradley and Barney Walsh / BBC

Kalpna Patel-Knight, Head of Entertainment at the BBC:

“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!”

Made by Hungry Bear Media and MGM Alternative UK, a division of Amazon MGM Studios, Gladiators has become a Saturday night hit 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.

Viewers can stream all available episodes of Gladiators and add the show to their watchlist now on the iPlayer.