Gladiators (UK TV series)
| Gladiators | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Genre | Sports |
| Created by | Dan Carr John Ferraro |
| Presented by |
Ulrika Jonsson John Fashanu (1992–96, 1999–2000) Jeremy Guscott (1997–98) |
| Starring |
John Anderson (Referee) John Sachs (Commentator) |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 8 (Series) 2 (International Gladiators) 2 (The Ashes) 2 (The Springbok Challenge) |
| No. of episodes | 112 (Series) 14 (International Gladiators) 6 (The Ashes) 14 (The Springbok Challenge) |
| Production | |
| Location(s) | National Indoor Arena |
| Running time | 60 minutes (inc. adverts) |
| Production company(s) | LWT in association with The Samuel Goldwyn Company |
| Distributor | ITV Studios |
| Release | |
| Original network | ITV |
| Picture format |
4:3 (1992–98) 16:9 (1999–2000) |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Original release | 10 October 1992 – 1 January 2000 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows |
Gladiators: Train 2 Win (1995–98) Gladiators (2008–09) |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Gladiators is a British television sports entertainment game show, an adaptation of the American programme and its format, American Gladiators, and was produced by LWT for ITV from 10 October 1992 to 1 January 2000, with a revival made for Sky 1 between 2008 and 2009. The programme's format sees four contestants, two male and two female, compete in a series of physical events against the show's "Gladiators", eventually competing in one final event, with contestants aiming to secure a place in the grand final and be crowned champion for their respective series.
The show was presented by Ulrika Jonsson throughout its original run, alongside John Fashanu (1992 - 1996) and Jeremy Guscott (1997 - 1998), with John Sachs providing commentary on each event, and John Anderson refereeing the contests. A group of cheerleaders also accompanied the show, known as the "G-Force". The success of the British series spawned further adaptations in Australia and other countries, while a children's version for the UK, entitled Gladiators: Train 2 Win, was also created and broadcast on CITV between 1995 and 1998.
The format of the series involves contestants battling against a 'Gladiator' in a number of events in order to secure points for the final event, The Eliminator. Typically, four contenders would appear in each episode, two male (Red and Blue) and two female (Pink and Yellow), and each contender would compete in five or six events, depending on the series or time constraints.
In each event, the contenders will score a number of points, usually ten for a win. Typically, both male and female contenders would compete in the same events; however, during series six, this format was removed, and female contenders would play easier games, whilst the male contenders would play more difficult games. Once all five or six games are played, the number of points is totalled and the contestant with the highest number of points gets a headstart in The Eliminator assault course with every point ahead of their competitor worth half a second. The winner of The Eliminator then goes on to compete in the next round.
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