The BBC has announced that Gladiators’ debut is its biggest launch for a new Entertainment series since musical reality show Let it Shine drew 6.3m for its 2017 debut.
Seven-day figures indicate that 8.7 million have now experienced the first episode of the new show, which features a brand new generation of Gladiators taking on contenders in the ultimate test of speed and strength on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
An average audience of 6.0m tuned in to the first episode on launch night, making it the biggest Entertainment launch in the UK since 2017 in overnights.
In addition to this, Gladiators is also a success with young audiences with 1.1m 16-34 year olds tuning in to episode one (BARB 4-Screen, 7-Days) to date.
As well as the broadcast each Saturday evening on BBC One, the programme is also performing well on BBC iPlayer, with 3.3m tuning in on iPlayer alone to the launch episode, seeing one of the highest Entertainment VOD audiences to date (BARB 4-Screen, 7-Days).
Kalpna Patel-Knight, head of entertainment at the BBC said: “The return of Gladiators has taken the nation by storm with viewing figures showing that Saturday nights in are back on BBC One for all the family. The hugely popular presenting duo of Bradley and Barney combined with the timeless excitement of seeing the Gladiators and contenders in action means the series continues to captivate audiences across the UK.”
All episodes of Gladiators to date are available now on BBC iPlayer, with the next brand new episode airing on Saturday 3 February at 7.10pm on BBC One following the Six Nations Rugby game between Wales and Scotland.
Gladiators (11 x 60’) is a Hungry Bear and MGM Alternative UK for BBC One and BBC iPlayer and was commissioned by Kate Phillips, Director of Unscripted. The Executive Producers are Dan Baldwin and Lou Brown for Hungry Bear and Dom Bird MGM Alternative UK. The Head of Entertainment Commissioning for the BBC is Kalpna Patel-Knight and the Commissioning Editor for the BBC is Clodagh O’Donoghue.
UK series developed by Hungry Bear Media, original American Gladiators series was created by Johnny C. Ferraro and Dan Carr. The UK show shoots on a specially built set at Sheffield’s Utilita Arena.
