Meet the new Gladiators facing off against contenders on rebooted BBC game show

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The BBC’s Gladiators will return to our screens on Saturday 13 January, with an all-new area, enthusiastic contenders, and the formidable tremendous athletes they are going to face off against.

The broadcaster introduced that it was reviving the sports activities leisure show, which first premiered in the UK on ITV in 1992, final yr.

A 2024 launch date was introduced throughout the closing of Strictly Come Dancing final December. The BBC later confirmed it will launch on the second Saturday in January.

This yr’s line-up of Gladiators includes 16 new “superhumans” who will take on contenders in each new and outdated video games.

Each Gladiator has been given a nickname, which describes them. This yr’s elite athletes embody Apollo, Athena, Legend, Fire, Bionic, Diamond, Nitro, Electro, Giant, Steel, Comet, Viper, Fury, Phantom, Sabre, and Dynamite.

Sabre

(BBC)

Sheli McCoy, who has competed in 5 British weightlifting championships and might deadlift 160kg, will seem as Sabre.

McCoy recalled being impressed by unique feminine Gladiators, together with British gymnast Kim Betts (Lightning) and British former heptathlete Judy Simpson (Nightshade), when she watched the show as a younger woman.

“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,” she mentioned.

Dynamite

(BBC)

Emily Steel, a 20-year-old full-time CrossFit athlete, will likely be often called Dynamite. Her secret weapon can also be tremendous energy, as Steel can carry 160kg, or six cement luggage, in a single go.

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She has beforehand teased a few of the show’s competitions, together with The Edge and Collision.

“[The Edge] is so high up in the sky with a net underneath and you’re literally playing cat and mouse up on this maze – until the Gladiator pushes the contender off the Edge into the net,” Steel revealed.

“Collision… that’s a very fun one. I felt like a little kid on a playground,” she continued. “That’s where the Contenders run across the bridge and we swing in from the trapeze to knock them off. I loved just swinging at someone, it was so fun.”

Fire

(BBC)

Team GB sprinter and Olympic bobsledder Montell Douglas will star as Fire on the show. The speedy Gladiator can run 100m in 11.05 seconds – blink and also you would possibly miss her!

She mentioned the BBC revival has stayed true to the unique ITV show, including: “I hope Gladiators will be what everyone remembers because it has the same feel as the Nineties show, just in 2024.

“You get the same the feeling you had when you heard the announcement ‘Gladiator’s Ready’ and the music come on, I hope the audience at home agree.”

Legend

Matt Morsia, a health influencer whose YouTube movies entice 1000’s of views, will go by Legend. His superhuman expertise is that Legend can triple soar over 50 toes, which is greater than a double decker bus.

Appearing on Gladiators has been a “lifelong ambition”, Morsia mentioned.

“It’s always been a life goal of mine. I watched the original Gladiators as a kid so from the age of nine or 10 years old, I wanted to be a Gladiator,” he continued. “It’s been a lifelong ambition, I guess.”

Apollo

Alex Gray, who beforehand performed in the England rugby sevens staff earlier than transferring to the NFL in the US, will likely be referred to as Apollo.

“Like Superman but with a sense of humour”, Apollo mentioned of himself. He can soar 2.8m from standing, or roughly the size of a ping-pong desk.

Gray mentioned he was “absolutely mad” for the unique show, including: “My mum says all plans were cancelled for the Saturdays that Gladiators was on TV, as there would be absolute hell to pay if me and my brothers couldn’t watch it.”

Giant

Jamie Christian Johal will seem as Giant, incomes his identify as he stands tall at 6ft 5in and fuels himself with 10,000 energy a day.

Giant has an unlikely connection to the first iteration of the Gladiators, after forging a friendship with Helen O’Reilly, the athlete often called Panther on seasons one to 5 of the ITV collection.

“My favourite female Gladiator was Panther,” Johal mentioned. “Fun fact for you… Panther and I became friends through a bodybuilding federation, which I did from my early twenties into my early thirties.”

Nitro

(BBC)

Team GB sprinter Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, whose biceps have a diameter of 44cm, has been nicknamed Nitro.

Nitro, who can do a standing vertical soar of 42 inches, describes his avatar as “pure energy”.

The athlete from London continued: “He’s 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.”

Diamond

(BBC)

A six-ft-tall bodybuilder from Worcestershire, Livi Sheldon will likely be often called Diamond.

Explaining that she will squat 120 kg, or the equal of standing up with a jaguar on your again, Sheldon mentioned her finest traits are her energy and energy.

“She’s also incredibly quick too. Diamond, is unbreakable; she’s strong, powerful, and versatile,” Sheldon added.

Athena

(BBC)

Karenjeet Kaur Bains, who’s the Commonwealth powerlifting champion, will go by Athena.

On her motivation to turn out to be a Gladiator, Bains defined that she wished to be a job mannequin for the subsequent technology.

The Indian-British powerlifter mentioned: “Coming from a diverse minority background, I’ve always dreamt of having a platform to inspire the next generation.

“What could be better than a sports entertainment programme like Gladiators? It’s iconic, so I couldn’t have asked for anything better.”

Comet

(BBC)

Ella-Mae Rayner, a former elite gymnast turned diving fanatic, is nicknamed Comet.

Rayner, who likes to stroll on her fingers, described Comet as the embodiment of “femininity and strength”.

“Comet is feminine; she is a perfectionist, very poised, and very elegant,” she mentioned. “She encompasses femininity and strength combined. She is always smiling and friendly, but she’s not someone to be underestimated, because she has her strengths and the games she competes in, she excels in.”

Bionic

(BBC)

Bodybuilder Matty Campbell, who can deadlift 300kg, has acquired his identify Bionic attributable to each his energy and peak. He stands tall at 6ft 6in.

Campbell revealed that he has a “fun, love-hate relationship” with Gladiators referee Mark Clattenburg, who’s a former Premier League soccer referee.

“Me and Mark have a fun, love hate relationship because he’s a Newcastle lad and I’m from Middlesbrough and the whole football rivalry, especially with him being a former ref,” Campbell defined. “We’re always messing about backstage.”

Phantom

(BBC)

Elsewhere, 6ft5ins British bobsledder Toby Olubi has been given the title of Phantom.

Phantom, who has the longest wingspan of all the Gladiators at 2 metres, mentioned the new collection is “explosive, evolutionary, epic and unmissable”.

He described his character as a “trump or Joker card” in the competitors.

“Phantom is a mysterious, elusive character that is a hybrid of all the Gladiators as well,” the London-based athlete mentioned. “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.”

Electro

(BBC )

Sports mannequin, health coach and hybrid athlete Jade Packer, who trains in CrossFit, has been named Electro.

Electro’s calling card is that she will squat 100 kgs, which is the identical weight as about 12 watermelons, with out breaking a sweat.

Asked to sum up the new collection in a single phrase, Electro replied: “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,” she added. “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.”

Viper

(BBC)

Bodybuilder Quang Luong, nicknamed Viper, mentioned he was “born to be a Gladiator”.

Viper, who can bench press the weight of an grownup panda, has topped himself the show’s villain – simply as Michael Van Wijk’s Wolf did on the unique collection.

The Surrey-based athlete ominously described his chartacter as “mean, moody, sneaky and powerful”.

Fury

(BBC)

Jodie Ounsley, who’s nicknamed Fury, is trying to preserve her household legacy alive along with her stint on Gladiators. Her dad took half as a contender in a earlier collection.

Fury, who’s the first-ever deaf Gladiator, mentioned: “I loved watching how physical the Gladiators were but then I also loved watching my dad go through the process as well, so he’s clearly been a massive influence and it’s pretty cool that I can do it too.”

Steel

(BBC)

CrossFit star Zack George, who gained the title of the UK’s Fittest Man in 2020, completes the line-up as Steel.

The self-described “Mr Nice Guy”, Steel can carry 220 kgs, which is about the identical as three-and-a-half washing machines.

He mentioned showing on the show is “like a dream come true” as a result of he idolised the unique Gladiators when watching them compete on the first iteration.

“I watched the original series, and at that time, I was extremely overweight, very self-conscious and I didn’t really like how I looked,” George mentioned. “I remember looking at the Gladiators and thinking that they are absolute superheroes, so to even one day potentially look like them – let alone actually become a Gladiator – is like a dream come true.”

Gladiators premieres on BBC One at 5.50pm on Saturday 13 January.

Additional reporting on wires.

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