Gladiators (2024 British TV series) series 3

Gladiators
Series 3
StarringBradley Walsh
Barney Walsh
Mark Clattenburg
Sonia Mkoloma
Lee Phillips
Guy Mowbray
No. of episodes12
Release
Original networkBBC One
Original release25 December 2025 (2025-12-25)
(Celebrity special)
Original release17 January 2026 (2026-01-17)
Series chronology

The third series of Gladiators began airing in the UK from 17 January 2026 on BBC One. It was recorded in the summer of 2025 at the Sheffield Arena.[1][2]

The third series was announced by the BBC after the growing attention and the success of the second series in 2025.[3][4][5][6] It is once again being hosted by Bradley and Barney Walsh, and being refereed by Mark Clattenburg with the assistance of Sonia Mkoloma and Lee Phillips.[7]

Another Celebrity Special episode with four new celebrity contenders was also announced. Joe Wicks, Sam Thompson, Vogue Williams and Nicola Adams were announced as the new Celebrity lineup.[8] The special aired on Christmas Day.[9][10]

In December 2025, following his divorce, male gladiator Giant reverted his last name to his birth name, Bigg. However, as the series was filmed in the summer of 2025, he is still listed here as Jamie Christian-Johal, using his previous double-barrel surname.[11]

When airing of the episodes began, it was quickly announced that the program had started casting contenders for a further, fourth series.[12]

Gladiators

Further information: Gladiators (2024 British TV series) § The Gladiators

All of the 18 Gladiators from the previous two series are set to return this series. Nitro (Harry Aikines-Aryeetey) is set to return from his hiatus on Series 2 after suffering an knee injury before the filming of the series, as is Giant (Jamie Bigg), who was only seen briefly in the previous series due to a bicep injury.[1][7][13]

Males Females
Gladiator name Real name Stats Gladiator name Real name Stats
Apollo Alex Gray 6 ft 6 in, 249 lb (1.98 m, 113 kg) Athena Karenjeet Kaur Bains 5 ft 4 in, 148 lb (1.63 m, 67 kg)
Bionic Matty Campbell 6 ft 6 in, 260 lb (1.98 m, 120 kg) Comet Ella-Mae Rayner 5 ft 8 in, 146 lb (1.73 m, 66 kg)
Giant Jamie Christian-Johal 6 ft 5 in, 280 lb (1.96 m, 130 kg) Cyclone Lystus Ebosele 5 ft 10 in, 209 lb (1.78 m, 95 kg)
Hammer Tom Wilson 6 ft 6 in, 257 lb (1.98 m, 117 kg) Diamond[a] Liv Sheldon 6 ft, 176 lb (1.83 m, 80 kg)
Legend[b] Matt Morsia 6 ft 1 in, 212 lb (1.85 m, 96 kg) Dynamite Emily Steel 5 ft 5 in, 141 lb (1.65 m, 64 kg)
Nitro Harry Aikines-Aryeetey 5 ft 11 in, 187 lb (1.80 m, 85 kg) Electro Jade Packer 5 ft 8 in, 154 lb (1.73 m, 70 kg)
Phantom Toby Olubi 6 ft 5 in, 247 lb (1.96 m, 112 kg) Fire Montell Douglas 5 ft 10 in, 148 lb (1.78 m, 67 kg)
Steel Zack George 6 ft, 236 lb (1.83 m, 107 kg) Fury Jodie Ounsley 5 ft 7 in, 163 lb (1.70 m, 74 kg)
Viper Quang Luong 6 ft, 200 lb (1.83 m, 90 kg) Sabre Sheli McCoy 5 ft 7 in, 154 lb (1.70 m, 70 kg)
Notes
  1. ^ Suffered an leg injury forcing her to withdraw from the series early on.
  2. ^ Misses most of the series' events due to bicep injury from competing. Is still seen in the program via different skits.

Contenders

The winning contenders are marked in bold. As the series contains only five heats, and three quarter finals, in addition to the winners of the previous episodes, the fastest runner-ups advance to the next stage.

Episodes Male Contenders Female Contenders
Celebrity Special Joe Wicks Sam Thompson Nicola Adams Vogue Williams
Heat 1 Finn Hutton Josh McDonald Rachael Phillips Naomi Church
Heat 2 Mark Billings Jason Melrose Gail Woodburn Emily Bell
Heat 3 Elliot Barton Tyler Spence Ellie Lederer Millie Margetts
Heat 4 Shaun Stephen Hinley Chan Ella Donnelly Ciara Scullion
Heat 5 Mo Robertson Sid Islam Helena Moss Nikki Hufano

Events

Main article: List of Gladiators UK events

In addition to the events from the previous series (Duel, Gauntlet, Hang Tough, Collision, Powerball, The Wall, The Edge, Unleash, Atlaspheres, Crash Course and The Eliminator), several brand new and returning classic events are introduced on the third series.

  • Destruction[2][14][15] is one of the new games in this series. In this event, two contenders are facing one Gladiator, in a race to press the button at the center of the arena. To get to the button, they have to break through four 8 ft tall barriers, each one requiring a different technique. The first is a straight run through, the second requires use of a battering ram, the third has marked crosses that must be kicked or punched to create hand/foot holds to climb over, and the fourth must be got through via brute force with repeated barges and attacks. 10 points are awarded for a win, 5 for coming second. If the gladiator comes first, 5 points are given to the first contender to strike the button.
  • Everest[16] is the second of the brand new games of the series. In a game of pushing power on an elevated platform 21 ft above the arena floor, the contender and the Gladiator must push a 220kg solid perspex wall the length of the platform so that the opponent will fall off the due to lack of space. At a certain point a siren will sound meaning the platform will tilt, firstly in the contender's favour and then in the Gladiator's. 10 points for are gained for pushing the Gladiator off, 5 points for a draw.
  • Suspension Bridge makes its return from the original series. A variant of Duel, contenders and gladiators fight on an unstable suspension bridge, and the contenders must reach the Gladiator's platform on the opposite side of the bridge to win. As in the original version, combatants fight using the hammerhead weapons. 10 points are awarded if the contenders reaches the Gladiator's platform, 5 points for a draw.

In a change to previous series, a head-to-head version of Duel between two fastest runner-ups was used to determine which contenders would receive the final spot in the quarter-finals; however, there were no clear winners due to none of the contenders falling in either the male or female bouts so the head referee made the final decision based on performance; this was not mentioned or aired in the programme.[17]

For this series, the balance beam obstacle of the Eliminator has been modified so instead of a level run it dips in the middle. Any red section on the beam must be touched or the contender will have to start again.

Episodes

No.
overall		No. in
series		TitleBBC One airdateUK viewers
(millions) [18]		Weekly Rank [18]
––"Christmas Celebrity Special"25 December 2025 (2025-12-25)4.2917th

Competing in the Christmas season's Celebrity Special edition are fitness coach Joe Wicks, TV personality Sam Thompson, presenter and media personality Vogue Williams and former Olympic boxer Nicola Adams.[8][9]  

Male Gladiators Giant and Nitro made returns in Duel and The Wall respectively, the latter being missed entirely in the previous series and the former after the fifth episode due to injuries. Legend, Diamond and Athena did not compete in this special.

 
231"Heat 1"17 January 2026 (2026-01-17)5.146th

The heats begin. Gladiators Legend, Athena and Diamond are back, and a brand new event, Destruction, debuts.[19] Contenders for the episode are Finn, Josh, Rachael and Naomi.

A new stats comparing feature was brought to compare the 6 ft 4 in tall contender Finn and the 6 ft 5 in gladiator Giant side-by-side before their Duel game.[19]

 
242"Heat 2"24 January 2026 (2026-01-24)4.749th

In this heat, another brand-new event called Everest debuts.[16][21] Contenders are Mark, Jason, Gail and Emily.

Gladiators Legend, Diamond nor Fire were seen competing in this episode. Before the first women's Duel of the episode, Legend held the other Gladiators a team talk, with hilarious starting setups for some of the events, featuring only himself, Plus Gladiator Steel for Duel. This based on the Gladiators' standard "below bar" from the previous episodes.[21]

 
253"Heat 3"31 January 2026 (2026-01-31)TBDTBA

This heat sees the return of events Unleash and Hang Tough.[22] Contenders for the episode are Elliot & Tyler, Ellie & Millie. This episode sees the return of gladiators Diamond, Legend and Fire, who were absent from events in the previous episode.

 
264"Heat 4"7 February 2026 (2026-02-07)TBDTBA

This heat includes events like Everest and Hang Tough.[23] Contenders are Shaun and Hinley, Ella and Ciara. During the episode, Injured Gladiator Legend was seen walking in, announcing his accident, and he did a skit for The Wall event, writing the hosts' teleprompter.

 
275"Heat 5"14 February 2026 (2026-02-14)TBDTBA

Events for the final heats include Duel and returning Crash Course.[17] Final set of contenders are Mo & Sid, Helena & Nikki. During the episode, injured Gladiator Legend was seen walking in, becoming an assistant referee; Lee Phillips did not feature in this episode.

 
286"Quarter Final 1"21 February 2026 (2026-02-21)TBDTBA
Marking the start of the quarter finals, classical event Suspension Bridge returns.[24]

Contenders progress (excluding Celebrity Special)

Colour key:

  Series champions
  The contender won the episode and advanced
  The contender was medically withdrawn from the competition
  The contender lost the episode but was later the winner of the head-to-head Duel-off and therefore qualified[17]
  The contender lost the episode and was eliminated
Contenders Episodes
Heats Quarter Finals Semi Finals Final
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Finn WIN N/a
Naomi WIN N/a
Mark N/a WIN N/a
Emily N/a WIN N/a
Tyler N/a WIN N/a
Ellie N/a WIN N/a
Millie N/a FF N/a
Hinley N/a WIN N/a
Ella N/a WIN N/a
Shaun N/a FF N/a
Mo N/a WIN N/a
Helena N/a WIN N/a
Sid N/a OUT N/a
Nikki N/a OUT N/a
Ciara N/a OUT N/a
Elliot N/a OUT N/a
Jason N/a OUT N/a
Gail N/a OUT N/a
Josh OUT N/a
Rachael OUT N/a

Gladiator injuries

The third season has seen the most amount of Gladiator injuries to date. Male Gladiator Legend (Matt Morsia) damaged his left bicep tendon during a failed tackle that resulted in him falling off The Edge on aired episode 1 (episodes are produced and aired in a different order).[20] Diamond (Livi Sheldon) suffered a major ACL and MCL tear during the fourth aired episode in Powerball,[25] sidelining her for the rest of the series as well. Athena (Karenjeet Kaur Bains) was last seen competing in Gauntlet in Heat 5. After the filming, she was discovered she had a full ACL tear, in addition to LCL and MCL ruptures, forcing her to step off for a surgery. She wasn't seen on the Celebrity special due to this.[26]

References

  1. ^ a b "Gladiators Series 3: Everything You Need to Know". GladiatotsTV. 24 June 2025.
  2. ^ a b "BBC Gladiators series 3 – Everything you need to know". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
  3. ^ "Gladiators 'Renewed for Third Series' on BBC One". TV Zone UK. 31 January 2025.
  4. ^ "GLADIATORS CONFIRMED FOR THIRD SERIES ON BBC ONE, APPLICATIONS OPEN". TV Zone UK. 15 March 2025.
  5. ^ "How to apply for Gladiators as BBC confirms third season". Messenger Newspapers. 15 March 2025.
  6. ^ "How to apply for Gladiators as BBC confirms series 3". The Bolton News. 15 March 2025.
  7. ^ a b "Gladiators series 3 and Celebrity Special confirmed". BBC Media Centre. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
  8. ^ a b "Four famous faces step into the arena for Gladiators Celebrity Special on BBC One and iPlayer". 29 July 2025. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  9. ^ a b "BBC One – Gladiators, Celebrity Special". BBC.
  10. ^ Zone, T. V. (December 2, 2025). "BBC CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR SCHEDULE REVEALED, NEW AND RETURNING PROGRAMMING CONFIRMED". TV Zone UK.
  11. ^ "Gladiator Giant to revert to birth surname... Bigg". BBC News. 1 January 2026. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
  12. ^ "GLADIATORS RENEWED FOR FOURTH SERIES ON BBC ONE WITH APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN FOR 2027 SERIES". TV Zone UK. Retrieved 22 January 2026.
  13. ^ "Leicestershire's BBC Gladiators star Steel to return to show after son's death". leicestermercury.co.uk. 24 June 2025.
  14. ^ "BBC Gladiators reveals explosive new game Destruction for series 3". BBC Media Centre. 13 January 2026.
  15. ^ "BBC Gladiators confirms 'most explosive event yet' in major series update". manchestereveningnews.co.uk. 13 January 2026.
  16. ^ a b "New Gladiators event Everest sees the series reach new heights". BBC Media Centre. 18 January 2026.
  17. ^ a b c "BBC One - Gladiators, Series 3, Episode 5". BBC. Retrieved Feb 14, 2026.
  18. ^ a b "Weekly Top 50 Shows". BARB. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  19. ^ a b "BBC One – Gladiators, Series 3, Episode 1". bbc.co.uk.
  20. ^ a b "'The worst three weeks of my life': Gladiators star suffers horror injury during filming". Kent Online. 19 August 2025.
  21. ^ a b "BBC One – Gladiators, Series 3, Episode 2". bbc.co.uk.
  22. ^ "BBC One – Gladiators, Series 3, Episode 3". bbc.co.uk.
  23. ^ "BBC One - Gladiators, Series 3, Episode 4". BBC. Retrieved Feb 14, 2026.
  24. ^ https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002rws3
  25. ^ "4 Gladiators injured while filming new series of BBC game show airing in 2026". Ledbury Reporter. 20 August 2025.
  26. ^ @karenjeet_bains; (1 September 2025). "Hey Insta Fam ❤️‍🩹" – via Instagram.
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