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The second series of Gladiators is set to air in the UK in Early 2025 on BBC One. It was recorded in August of 2024, mostly during the school holidays, at the Sheffield Arena.

The series was commissioned by the BBC bosses after an successful relaunch in 2024, which attracted nearly 10 million viewers during its whole first series.

The eleven-part series is being presented by the Walshes (Bradley and Barney), who also presented the first series. Mark Clattenburg returns as the lead referee alongside assistants Lee Phillips and Sonia Mkoloma. In addition of regular episodes, the series also has a "one-off" Celebrity Special episode, where four Celebrity contestants take on the Gladiators.

Gladiators

All of the Gladiators from the previous series return this series, with Diamond (Livi Sheldon) and Giant (Jamie Christian-Johal) being amongst the very first announced returnees.

Notes

1. Although Nitro featured on the programme, he did not appear in any of the events during the series, due to knee injury from the trainings.

Contenders

The colours Red & Blue denote the colours worn by the contender. The winning contenders are marked in bold. As the series concists only from five heats, and three quarter finals, in addition to the winners of the previous episodes, the fastest runner-ups advance to the next stage.

Events

In addition to all of the events from the previous series (Duel, Gauntlet, Hang Tough, Collision, The Ring, Powerball, The Wall, The Edge and The Eliminator), some new events are introduced on the second series of Gladiators.

Following events were added to the roster:

• Atlaspheres, which returns from the 1990s version. In the event, the contenders are inside large metal cages, or "spheres" and try to gain points by crossing different score pods on the arena floor, while two Gladiators try to prevent this inside their own spheres.
• Crash Course is a modification of Atlaspheres, where the contenders must race around the arena while simultaneously being pursuit by the Gladiators, trying to catch the contenders in their own spheres, before these reach the finish line.
• Unleash is a new game of tag, where the contender must make it around the arena floor, and grab a "G" flag from the top of a podium, all this while a Gladiator is "Unleashed" and starts a pursuit behind this.

As the result of fan feedback from the previous series, the Gauntlet received some major upgrades for this series. An additional fifth zone/Gladiator was added, and a new "weapon" reminding the shape of a claw or bucket was introduced.

Episodes

Note that some of the episodes are shown in different order that they were filmed.

Contenders progress (excluding Celebrity Special)

Color key:

  Series champions

  The contender won the episode and advanced

  The contender was medically withdrawn from the competition

  The contender was the fastest finisher and qualified

  The contender lost the episode and was eliminated

Ratings

Weekly ratings for each show on BBC One. Ratings are provided by BARB Audiences

References

1. Methven, Nicola (26 March 2024). "EXCLUSIVE: BBC Gladiators secures second series with bosses ready for record number of applicants". Mirror.
2. "BBC commission Gladiators for second series before this weekend's final". Yahoo! Movies. 28 March 2024.
3. "BBC Gladiators series 2 gets major update as very telling detail spotted". The Mirror. 20 June 2024.
4. "Gladiators is set to return to the BBC". BBC Media Centre.
5. "Gladiators revival 'will return for another run in 2025'". Yahoo! Movies. 17 January 2024.
6. "Gladiators season two 'confirmed' by BBC as bosses put reboot on 'big priority' list". Express. 27 March 2024.
7. Tonks, Phoebe (2 April 2024). "Bradley Walsh and son Barney's BBC Gladiators fate revealed after show renewal". Mirror.
8. ^ "GLADIATORS LINE-UP CONFIRMED FOR SECOND SERIES ON BBC ONE". TV Zone UK. 23 July 2024.
9. Darvill, Josh (4 April 2024). "Gladiators Celebrity special coming to BBC One". tellymix.co.uk.
10. ^ "Gladiators Sheffield: TV show's maker on what to expect from next series and why they had to return to city". The Sun. 3 April 2024.
11. Evans, Alex (7 April 2024). "BBC Gladiators Diamond star makes decision on her future on show in emotional statement as fans issue plea". Leeds Live.
12. Brinsford, James (30 March 2024). "Gladiators star Giant 'given second chance' by BBC bosses despite dangerous steroid remarks". Mirror.
13. @nitro_thegladiator (2 December 2024). "During training for series 2 earlier this year, I picked up an unexpected knee injury, which means I'll be shifting gears this series and sitting out the events" – via Instagram.
14. @bbcgladiators (1 January 2025). "There's SO much more to come... Bring on the brand new series of #Gladiators on #iPlayer from January" – via Instagram.
15. ^ "Weekly Top 50 Shows". BARB. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
16. "Celebrities Ready? Rob Beckett, Louise Minchin, Joel Dommett and Ellie Taylor are taking on the Gladiators in a new Celebrity Special". BBC Media Centre. 7 August 2024.
17. "CELEBRITY GLADIATORS: FAMOUS FACES TAKING PART REVEALED". TV Zone UK. 7 August 2024.
18. Mensah, Katelyn (3 December 2024). "Celebrity Gladiators release date confirmed by BBC". radiotimes.com.
19. "BBC One - Gladiators, Series 2, Celebrity Special". bbc.co.uk. 1 January 2025.
20. ^ "Winners of Gladiators: Celebrity Special crowned". glasgowtimes.co.uk. 1 January 2025.
21. "BBC One - Gladiators, Series 2, Episode 1". bbc.co.uk.

• Upcoming television seasons