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Gladiators (2008 British TV series)
Gladiators is a British television series which aired on Sky One from 11 May 2008 to 25 October 2009. It was a revival of the earlier series of the same name and based on the second American version of the show. The US, UK and Australian versions of the show were all revived in 2008. For the first series, the show was hosted by Ian Wright and Kirsty Gallacher with original referee John Anderson returning. The second series saw Caroline Flack replace Gallacher as host and Anderson replaced by boxing referee John Coyle. During its original airing on Sky One, it was sponsored by Wii. The show was cancelled in May 2009 by then director of programmes Stuart Murphy.[1][2] On 13 January 2024, a second revival started broadcasting on BBC One and BBC iPlayer, presented by Bradley Walsh alongside his son Barney.[3] FormatSeries one featured 32 contenders (16 male, 16 female). Men and women competed in separate tournaments, with two men and two women competing in each episode. Contenders participated in events against the Gladiators, trying to earn points before the final event, the Eliminator, each point separating the contenders translated into a half-second advantage. The four events leading up to the final were selected from a total of eleven events. The grand prize in Series 1 was £50,000 per winning contender. Changes from the original seriesThe show featured a lineup of new Gladiators, however Amazon, Panther, Siren and Warrior share names with Gladiators from the original UK series and several others share names with those from international series. Owing to Sky One's greater advertising requirements, and contestant interviews prior to each of the events starting, the number of events before the Eliminator was cut from five to four. The revival also had a more dramatic presentation and featured new theme music. Whereas in the original series the Gladiators all wore matching leotards, here all costumes were different. Some costumes were themed to the aliases, with Spartan, Battleaxe and Warrior's costumes all styled to look like period battle armour. Many of the Gladiator costumes were noticeably more revealing than in the original series, with Oblivion, Destroyer and Ice in particular were wearing very little. EventsThe new Gladiators studio set meant that there was only room for eleven events, nine from the original series: Duel, Gauntlet, Hang Tough, Hit & Run, Powerball, Pursuit, Pyramid, The Wall and Suspension Bridge. The two new events were Earthquake and Rocketball, which originated in the first and second American Gladiators series respectively. Notable changes from the original series include Duel, Hang Tough, Hit & Run, Pursuit and Suspension Bridge now being played over water. The revised Eliminator featured a swimming section, a climb to the top of the Pyramid and two Travelators in series two. The GladiatorsFemale Gladiators
Male Gladiators
Leader of the PackFrom the original series, Wolf (Real name Michael Van Wijk) appeared in two legends specials in 2008, before becoming the "Leader of the Pack" in series 2. He appeared in this capacity giving motivational talks to the Gladiators and participate in interviews before and after events. Series winnersSeries One (2008)
Series Two (2009)
Champion of Champions (2009)
MusicAll the music to the new series was specially composed by British composer Paul Farrer, who is also known for his music for The Weakest Link and Dancing on Ice. Other samples of popular music were used in events on the show, including "...Baby One More Time" by Britney Spears, "Boom! Shake the Room" by DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince and "Another One Bites the Dust" by Queen. InjuriesSeries OneAccording to reports, at least one contestant had to withdraw from the opening episode, while one of the Gladiators slipped on a bridge and had to leave the set. Another Gladiator, Enigma, suffered an injured ankle and had to be replaced in the semi-finals and final by stand-in Gladiator Cyclone. Enigma was involved in a separate incident on Gauntlet, in which contender Leanne Lennox kicked a ram rod into her face, resulting in a confrontation and then her being disqualified. Contenders also suffered injuries; including Nicola Trench, who broke her toe on Earthquake, and Joel Grant Jones, who sustained a shoulder injury in Powerball. Gavin Sunshine hurt his knee in Gauntlet and Greg Kirk suffered a broken arm in the quarter-finals during Powerball, in both cases the contenders were left unable to compete in the Eliminator. Kirk withdrew before the event and was replaced by back-up contender Andy Bell, while Sunshine was unable to complete the Eliminator and his competitor, Kevin Dixon, won the show by default. Sky One responded to say that health and safety is their number one issue, and they want to minimise the injuries, but pointed out that; "This is Gladiators – a tough physical show for athletes. It's not Family Fortunes!"[4] Series TwoIn the second episode of "Gladiators: The Legends Strike Back", female legend Scorpio suffered an ankle fracture while participating in The Wall.[5] In the fourth episode, a female contestant, Gemma Green, had to pull out owing to sustaining a knee injury in Gauntlet just before the Eliminator. David Staff broke his nose during the semi-finals while on Earthquake with Doom; however, he went on to score points. He later went on to win the eliminator and eventually went on to win the series as male champion, and later the Champion of Champions special, aired on April 5 2009. Also, Gladiator Warrior sustained an injury during gauntlet where he and contender Justin Thompson clashed heads, sustaining a cut just above his eye. He was replaced in the event by fellow gladiator Oblivion. SpinoffsGladiators G-ZoneOriginally advertised as Gladiators: G-Force, this short ten-minute programme profiled a selection of the Gladiators, including Spartan, Panther and Atlas. Interviews were conducted by Gladiators from the original series, Diane Youdale ("Jet") and James Crossley ("Hunter"). A two-minute profile of Oblivion, not previously shown, appeared as part of a repeat run. MerchandiseA DVD, All New Gladiators, was released on October 20th 2008. It compiled highlights from the first series, as well as behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with Gladiators Atlas, Battleaxe, Enigma, Oblivion, Panther, Spartan, and referee John Anderson. Character Toys released toys of a number of Gladiators and a speaking microphone with eight of John Anderson's catchphrases to tie in with the first series. TransmissionsOriginal series
Specials
References
External links
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