1 week Ago By Becky Burgum
If you met one of the Gladiators but weren’t sure of their name, you’d have a rotten time telling people who you met by description alone. “Intimidatingly strong while being so good-looking that they surely must have been sculpted by some kind of god” wouldn’t narrow things down at all for the cast of BBC One’s hit Saturday dinner-time show. The format, for the unfamiliar, sees ultra-fit members of the public pitted against a roster of lycra-clad powerlifters, bodybuilders, CrossFit champions and Olympic veterans – a posse of He-Mans and She-Ras with sleeve tattoos.
These are the Gladiators of the title, larger-than-life figures with gleaming costumes, bulging muscles, trademark poses and one-word nicknames – Electro, Phantom, Hammer...
As an adult, rhapsodising about your love of Gladiators makes people assume you’re either being ironic or are a bit of a div. “Incredible result this weekend” isn’t meant to refer to a pugil stick duel. But it’s great.
After this weekend’s hard-fought final, that’s it for the second series, and telly will get significantly less hench for a while – and less uplifting. if(window.adverts) { window.
adverts.addToArray({"pos": "inread-hb-ros-inews"}); }The Gladiators are larger-than-life with gleaming costumes, bulging muscles, trademark poses and one-word nicknames, like Phantom (Photo: Graeme Hunter/Hungry Bear/BBC)Despite being an extremely silly show about huge people with wacky names hitting slightly smaller people off platforms, it’s the most positive, life-affirming thing on television. The spirit, sportsmanship and determination on display week after week is a wonderful thing.
An injured, knackered, winded contender crossing the finishing line (well, swinging through the finishing banner on a rope), and using the last bit of energy they have to cheer on their opponent, is a genuinely inspiring sight.I’ve actually been brought to tears on multiple occasions by this nonsense. A battered contender earnestly telling the arena how much his dear, sweet, little white-haired granny means to him, then the camera cutting to her weeping in the stands? Not a dry eye in the house.
#color-context-related-article-2844414 {--inews-color-primary: #b9244c;--inews-color-secondary: #f0f0f0;--inews-color-tertiary: #b9244c;} Read Next square TELEVISION The Gen Z Gladiators taking on the 90s classicRead MoreThe Gladiators themselves are (mostly) charming, beating the hell out of people then sincerely complimenting them on how well they took it. Jodie “Fury” Ounsley will snarlingly tackle a contender off a nine-metre platform, but somehow transform back into her kind, smiley self mid-air and immediately check on her victim’s welfare. It’s an upbeat beating-up.
Fury wears a cochlear implant and seems like the nicest person in the world, too. A fan-made poster showing hands spelling her name in British Sign Language, drawn by a young girl who had been inspired by her to learn it, is felt-tipped testimony to the positive influence these double-hard demigods can have.if(window.
adverts) { window.adverts.addToArray({"pos": "mpu_mobile_l1"}); }if(window.
adverts) { window.adverts.addToArray({"pos": "mpu_tablet_l1"}); }Even defeat brings positivity to the arena.
Zack “Steel” George, once named the UK’s fittest man, had a few clumsy rounds this series, but accepted his defeats with grace and humility. He talks openly about his desire to inspire younger viewers by taking responsibility for his mistakes, despite any frustrations. Jamie “Giant” Christian-Johal – a man with thighs so massive they’re in different council tax bands – had to pull out of filming mid-series due to injury.
When he returned, briefly, a few episodes later for an update on his healing, the crowd went nuts and he was choking back tears. A guy the size of a space shuttle crying at how nice everyone’s being: hell yeah.There’s a lot of focus on a few negative male role models at the moment.
This show offers positive male role models who could also, if they wished, tear the negative ones limb from limb without breaking a sweat. Balancing outsized, arena-filling charisma and insane physical prowess with genuine humility can’t be easy, but seeing these greased-up champs embrace their status as inspirational figures is a beautiful thing.The panto-villain petulance and 70s pro-wrestling swagger is all part of the fun (Photo: Graeme Hunter/Hungry Bear/BBC)Only half the Gladiators do this, of course.
The other half are all panto-villain petulance and 70s pro-wrestling swagger. There’s temper tantrums, outlandish boasts, self-aggrandising poetry, and dropping people in bins. (It’s awesome.
) But all the cartoon-like bad behaviour – Legend’s incredible bragging, Viper’s perma-scowl, Cyclone’s smack-talk – just works to underline the positivity of everything else. Sure, inevitably anytime anyone else comes into the room when you’re watching it, there’ll be a lingering slow-motion close-up on a rippling pair of flawless buttocks and you’ll look like a tremendous saddo. But it’s worth it – an uplifting, inspiring experience in which everyone’s a champion and dreams come true.
As a combination of family-friendly entertainment and blows to the head, it’ll never be equalled unless someone commissions Strictly Come Bare-Knuckle Fighting..
