r/gladiatorsuk

Series 3 gave us Destruction, the event where contenders charge down lanes smashing through those massive 8ft barriers using body power, a battering ram, and climbing mechanics. While it definitely delivered on the "fast and fierce" promise, I felt like the Gladiators didn't have quite enough defensive leverage once a contender got momentum. Did you think it was a worthy modern addition to the classic rotation, or did it feel a bit too much like a mini-Eliminator clone rather than a true Gladiator vs. Contender showdown?

Im going yo that gladiators experience on saturday in Birmingham. My kids are only young so we booked the spectators tickets so we could still do the meet and great.

Im now a little worried we are all going to be bored as none of us are contenders. Has anyone been and what was you experience? Is there stuff spectators can do?

My kids are wanting to make signs and bring them? Is it that kind of vibe? Also what's the meet and greet system like is it hours of queuing?

For reference my kids and 3 and 6.

My boyfriend and I were just discussing missing Gladiator, which led us to discuss Giants latest statement and Dynamites enthusiastic attempts to sing.

I have given up searching, it’s not as simple as the good ol’ days with the simple Top 40 UK and I do not trust AI. Her Wikipedia also makes zero reference to her singing.

Does anyone know if she reached the top 40 with any of them, and if so what did she/they peak at?

I would be surprised if this is a yes, as I’ve definitely heard better, but who am I to judge, even my cat leaves the room when I sing!

Hey everyone, another week, another set of Gladiators to talk about! This week, it's another set of speedsters, Fire and Phantom! I will say, I do feel out of it this week so I might not be able to remember everything I want to say in the post.

Fire has had a phenomenal season this time around! Definitely shown herself as a powerful Gladiator all around, with an incredible run of Destruction and being a new addition to the Hang Tough rotation and playing the events well. As we've said before, all-rounders beat specialists in this show so far and she's definitely proven herself as a great all-rounder with a great range of events.

Phantom is notable for now being the Male Gladiator with the best Duel record which is always an impressive feat. And an introduction on the Wall gives him a new event as well, which I always love. Great runs on Unleash but I will say, it was poor form to make him do the one in the final when he had an injury.

What do you all think of Fire and Phantom!

Now that Series 3 is over, I’ve been thinking about what they might bring back for the Sheffield filming this summer. I loved seeing Pyramid return this year, but I’m still hoping for Pendulum or Skytrak next. Nitro or Fury would be absolute beasts on those. Any old-school events you think would actually work well with the current set-up?

Hello again. I've given it a few weeks, and we can now observe a comprehensive table of the FULL Series 3 Terrestrial Ratings report.

2025 Christmas Special (Aired Dec 25th):
4.29 Million Viewers (After 7 Days)
11th Place on BBC1 in the week. (After 7 Days)
17th Place overall in the week. (After 7 Days)

5.48 Million Viewers (After 28 Days)
8th Place on BBC1 in the week. (After 28 Days)
13th Place overall in the week. (After 28 Days)

-

3x01 'Heat 1' (Aired Jan 17th):
5.14 Million Viewers (After 7 Days)
6th Place on BBC1 in the week. (After 7 Days)
6th Place overall in the week. (After 7 Days)

5.74 Million Viewers (After 28 Days)
7th Place on BBC1 in the week. (After 28 Days)
7th Place overall in the week. (After 28 Days)

-

3x02 'Heat 2' (Aired Jan 24th):
4.74 Million Viewers (After 7 Days)
9th Place on BBC1 in the week. (After 7 Days)
9th Place overall in the week. (After 7 Days)

5.23 Million Viewers (After 28 Days)
9th Place on BBC1 in the week. (After 28 Days)
9th Place overall in the week. (After 28 Days)

-

3x03 'Heat 3' (Aired Jan 31st):
4.75 Million Viewers (After 7 Days)
6th Place on BBC1 in the week. (After 7 Days)
6th Place overall in the week. (After 7 Days)

5.35 Million Viewers (After 28 Days)
6th Place on BBC1 in the week. (After 28 Days)
6th Place overall in the week. (After 28 Days)

-

3x04 'Heat 4' (Aired Feb 7th):
4.74 Million Viewers (After 7 Days)
6th Place on BBC1 in the week. (After 7 Days)
6th Place overall in the week. (After 7 Days)

5.13 Million Viewers (After 28 Days)
7th Place on BBC1 in the week. (After 28 Days)
7th Place overall in the week. (After 28 Days)

-

3x05 'Heat 5' (Aired Feb 14th):
3.56 Million Viewers (After 7 Days)
7th Place on BBC1 in the week. (After 7 Days)
15th Place overall in the week. (After 7 Days)

4.07 Million Viewers (After 28 Days)
5th Place on BBC1 in the week. (After 28 Days)
9th Place overall in the week. (After 28 Days)

-

3x06 'Quarter-Final 1' (Aired Feb 21st):
3.16 Million Viewers (After 7 Days)
21st Place on BBC1 in the week. (After 7 Days)
34th Place overall in the week. (After 7 Days)

3.67 Million Viewers (After 28 Days)
13th Place on BBC1 in the week. (After 28 Days)
20th Place overall in the week. (After 28 Days)

-

3x07 'Quarter-Final 2' (Aired Feb 28th):
4.14 Million Viewers (After 7 Days)
8th Place on BBC1 in the week. (After 7 Days)
9th Place overall in the week. (After 7 Days)

4.49 Million Viewers (After 28 Days)
8th Place on BBC1 in the week. (After 28 Days)
13th Place overall in the week. (After 28 Days)

-

3x08 'Quarter-Final 3' (Aired Mar 7th):
3.54 Million Viewers (After 7 Days)
12th Place on BBC1 in the week. (After 7 Days)
17th Place overall in the week. (After 7 Days)

3.90 Million Viewers (After 28 Days)
12th Place on BBC1 in the week. (After 28 Days)
18th Place overall in the week. (After 28 Days)

-

3x09 'Semi-Final 1' (Aired Mar 14th):
3.87 Million Viewers (After 7 Days)
8th Place on BBC1 in the week. (After 7 Days)
11th Place overall in the week. (After 7 Days)

4.23 Million Viewers (After 28 Days)
8th Place on BBC1 in the week. (After 28 Days)
13th Place overall in the week. (After 28 Days)

-

3x10 'Semi-Final 2' (Aired Mar 21st):
3.61 Million Viewers (After 7 Days)
7th Place on BBC1 in the week. (After 7 Days)
18th Place overall in the week. (After 7 Days)

3.95 Million Viewers (After 28 Days)
6th Place on BBC1 in the week. (After 28 Days)
17th Place overall in the week. (After 28 Days)

-

3x11 'The Grand Final' (Aired Mar 28th):
4.18 Million Viewers (After 7 Days)
6th Place on BBC1 in the week. (After 7 Days)
9th Place overall in the week. (After 7 Days)

4.53 Million Viewers (After 28 Days)
6th Place on BBC1 in the week. (After 28 Days)
11th Place overall in the week. (After 28 Days)

So, what can we gleam from the final full results? Mostly a lot of the same, in terms of abstract understanding. Gladiators is still very much fine, if not the juggernaut it was at launch 2 years ago.

In terms if averages:

7-Day:
Series 1 (2024): 6.17 Million.
Series 2 (2025): 4.73 Million.
Series 3 (2026): 4.13 Million.

28-day:
Series 1 (2024): 6.85 Million.
Series 2 (2025): 5.27 Million.
Series 3 (2026): 4.57 Million.

Which means Gladiators has a healthy, steady audience of roughly just over 4 Million. Not bad at all, especially for 2026.

You may also note, from the chart above, that more often than not 'Gladiators' was not only charting in the BBC's Top Ten broadcasts, but was also charting in the Total top 10 for over half of the Season. Which is the prime real estate of modern broadcastinf Telly here in the UK.

And while ratings have declined, the decline does appear to be softening, especially from 2 to 3. I would estimate we have found, roughly, the shows ratings floor for the time being.

I have almost no doubt that Series 4 will decline again somewhat. But I expect the fall to be significantly less of a gap. And if I am right, then Gladiators will stabalise in a comfy, healthy place.

And so long as the series retains its strong ROI (Return Of Investmnent), with things like merchandise and event sales, aswell as international versions of the brand like on Amazon, then I expect we have many more brawls in the Arena to look forwards to.

No idea when I'll make my next update. At the latest, it'll be after this years celebrity special. But I may have another Ratings related topic I want to bring up at a later time.

Until then, I hope this has been helpful. See you's then!

Hi! I've seen a few posts with questions and discussion about the Gladiators Experience NEC, Birmingham, so I thought it would be nice to help with any questions anyone might have if they're going or thinking of going! Or any discussion or feedback if anyone has visited :)