Reports: BBC set to revive Gladiators

[RhysJR]

The Guardian and Broadcast are reporting that the 90s and 00s TV show Gladiators, previously on ITV and Sky One, could be revived on BBC One.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022...r-a-reboot

https://twitter.com/Broadcastnow/status/...9166592000

[JK1985]

More licence fee money being wasted on a tired old ITV format. Surely the BBC can come up with some new entertainment game shows?

[tellyblues]

Terrible idea but at least it would get Pointless and other dull shows off Saturday night for a bit.

[Blobs]

More licence fee money being wasted on a tired old ITV format.  Surely the BBC can come up with some new entertainment game shows?

90s nostalgia is a terrible thing but everyone else is at it so why not? The usual license fee pearl clutchers got into a tizzy back when it was announced strictly was being revived and this doesn’t sound half as crazy as that did at the time so who knows?

[Brekkie]

Not something I expected but it is nice to see something with a bit of ambition commissioned for a Saturday night considering how mundane Q1/Q2 has been recently.

[tellyblues]

More licence fee money being wasted on a tired old ITV format.  Surely the BBC can come up with some new entertainment game shows?

90s nostalgia is a terrible thing but everyone else is at it so why not? The usual license fee pearl clutchers got into a tizzy back when it was announced strictly was being revived and this doesn’t sound half as crazy as that did at the time so who knows?

Come Dancing was filler shoved on close to midnight whereas SCD is Saturday primetime. Celebs make it because there was Strictly Dance Fever featuring members of the public that didn't do anywhere near as well and was axed.

[Jon]

90s nostalgia is a terrible thing but everyone else is at it so why not? The usual license fee pearl clutchers got into a tizzy back when it was announced strictly was being revived and this doesn’t sound half as crazy as that did at the time so who knows?

Come Dancing was filler shoved on close to midnight whereas SCD is Saturday primetime. Celebs make it because there was Strictly Dance Fever featuring members of the public that didn't do anywhere near as well and was axed.

I’m not sure you’re responding to the point they’re making.

If you’re arguing Come Dancing was less popular in the first place that would in most peoples eyes would make it even less of a safe bet.

If you’re arguing Strictly only had success because it used celebrities, there is nothing to stop this version of Gladiators doing that. Although I would hope they don’t exclusively.

The point the post is making I think, is that people were critical when they revived the brand but they were later proved wrong and it could well be the same here.

[Larry the Loafer]

Hungry Bear... Hmm.

Ten quid says Holly will be hosting.

[tellyblues]

Come Dancing was filler shoved on close to midnight whereas SCD is Saturday primetime. Celebs make it because there was Strictly Dance Fever featuring members of the public that didn't do anywhere near as well and was axed.

I’m not sure you’re responding to the point they’re making.

If you’re arguing Come Dancing was less popular in the first place that would in most peoples eyes would make it even less of a safe bet.

If you’re arguing Strictly only had success because it used celebrities, there is nothing to stop this version of Gladiators doing that. Although I would hope they don’t exclusively.

The point the post is making I think, is that people were critical when they revived the brand but they were later proved wrong and it could well be the same here.

Gladiators comes with high expectation levels that to fulfil would be nigh on impossible, nostalgia being what it is. It's why most reboots fail.

Having celebs would be met with a meh response given how many shows resort to it nowadays, unlike when SCD came about it wasn't as commonplace.

SCD is considerably different to the show which preceded it and both the talent and scheduling have a lot to do with that. I'm not saying just because it had celebs it was successful but it was a huge factor. Dance Fever would perhaps have been a moderate hit on its own but then again it had a Saturday night slot which helped it, which Come Dancing didn't have, so again, it's not comparing like for like.

[Neil Jones]

Haven't they tried to get Gladiators up and running a few times now without success? I know they keep trying to revive American Gladiators.

[Rolling News]

Amazing idea. Gladiators was a firm part of my Saturday night's as a young child, would be really really magnificent to see it again. Hope the BBC don't water it down too much though.

[Mateus Honrado]

I wonder why the new revival is going to be on BBC One instead of ITV like the original.

[Jon]

I wonder why the new revival is going to be on BBC One instead of ITV like the original.

Because the BBC are the ones that have/will be commissioning it.

ITV probably don’t see the need for it considering they have a reasonably successful similar format in Ninja Warrior UK.

[Larry the Loafer]

I've always seen Ninja Warrior as the equivalent to running the Eliminator over and over again. And I've never understood the need to have a full VT about a contestant only for them to fail after five seconds. But anyway...

Having just read another article about the Gladiators reboot, I was pleased to read that it'll apparently take place in Sheffield Arena. I don't know how that compares to whatever the NIA is known as now, but I'm glad they're going back to an arena to hopefully regain the atmosphere that was totally lacking in the studio-based Sky reboot. I just really hope it's not ruined by excessive editing, replays and whatnot. What I loved about the original is how it always felt live, even though it was inconceivable to setup each event in mere seconds. That's been completely lost by a number of shows of a similar nature, not just Ninja Warrior.

[tellyblues]

Another letdown with the Sky show was the new music by Paul Farrer, which was awful.

Friends Like These is supposed to be getting rebooted, which looks a better prospect than Gladiators.