BBC1 bringing back Gladiators 22 years after show was cancelled – and it’s filming next year
ICONIC telly hit Gladiators is being lined up for a major comeback by the BBC.
The show was a Saturday night titan for most of the 1990s - with super-fit members of the public battling a team of 'Gladiators'.
It made stars of the likes of 'Jet' aka Diane Youdale and 'Wolf' - bodybuilder Michael Van Wijk, with more than 14 million viewers tuning in each week.
Now, BBC One is lining up a reboot of the series, 30 years after it first aired on ITV.
reported today that the show is expected to start filming in Sheffield Arena next year.
Hungry Bear Media - the company founded by Holly Willoughby's husband Dan Baldwin - is involved in plans to bring it back to screens.
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Gladiators, originally made for ITV network London Weekend Television, was fronted by Ulrika Jonsson with football star John Fashanu.
Its cast of characters included gruff referee John 'you will go on my first whistle' Anderson and voiceover man John Sachs.
It saw competitors take on the cast in games including Atlas Spheres, The Wall, Danger Zone, Swingshot, Hang Tough and Duel - where its stars battled with giant cotton buds.
However, the original series came to an end after eight years in 2000.
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It was briefly revived for a revamped series for Sky One between 2008 and 2009.
The announcement sparked a wave of nostalgia from fans delighted to hear it was coming back.
One tweeted: "Yes! Original Gladiators was must-watch TV on Saturdays when I was a kid with rolls from a Safeway bakery savoury wheel and bits for dinner."
Another insisted: "Gladiators can’t be rebooted because no one on earth has the raw sexual charisma that Wolf had."
