Series one featured 32 contenders. Men and women competed in separate tournaments, with two men and two women competing in each episode. Contenders took part in events against the Gladiators, trying to earn as many points as possible before the final event, the Eliminator. In that event, each point separating the contenders translated into a half-second advantage. The four events leading up to the final were selected from a total of eleven events. The grand prize in Series 1 was £50,000 per winning contender.
The show featured a lineup of new Gladiators, with new costumes. However, Amazon, Panther, Siren and Warrior share names with gladiators from the original UK series and several others share names with those from international series. Many of the Gladiator costumes were noticeably more revealing than in the original series, with male Gladiators Atlas and Oblivion in particular wearing very little. Due to Sky1's greater advertising requirements, and contestant interviews prior to each of the events starting, the number of events before the Eliminator was cut from five to four. The revival also featured new music.
Events
The new Gladiators studio set meant that there was only room for 11 events, 9 events from the original series: Duel, Gauntlet, Hang Tough, Hit & Run, Powerball, Pursuit, Pyramid, The Wall and Suspension Bridge. The two new events were Earthquake and Rocketball, which originated in the first and second American Gladiators series respectively. Notable changes from the original series include Duel, Hang Tough, Hit & Run, Pursuit and Suspension Bridge now being played over water. The revised Eliminator featured a swimming section, a climb to the top of the Pyramid and two Travelators.
The Gladiators
Female Gladiators
Male Gladiators
Leader of the pack
Wolf returned to be the Gladiators' "Leader of the Pack". He featured in all episodes of series 2. His real name is Michael Van Wijk.
All the music to the new series was specially composed by British composer Paul Farrer also known for his music for The Weakest Link and Dancing on Ice. Other artists' music has been used in certain events.
Injuries
Series One
According to reports, at least one contestant has had to withdraw from the opening episode, while one of the Gladiators slipped on a bridge and had to leave the set. Another Gladiator had a stomach bug and Enigma suffered from an injured ankle. In addition, Enigma was involved in an incident on Gauntlet where a contender kicked a ram rod into her face, resulting in a confrontation and the contender being disqualified. Contenders also suffered injuries including a broken toe suffered by Nicola Trench on Earthquake, a damaged knee suffered by Gavin Sunshine in Gauntlet, a shoulder injury suffered by Joel Grant Jones in Powerball, as well as Greg Kirk suffering a broken arm in the quarter finals during Powerball. One contender, Gavin Sunshine, was so badly injured that he refused to start after his whistle and the other contender, Kevin Dixon, won the show by default. Sky1 responded to say that health and safety is their number one issue, and they want to minimise the injuries, but pointed out that; "This is Gladiators - a tough physical show for athletes. It's not Family Fortunes!"
Series Two
In the second episode of "Gladiators: The Legends Strike Back" female legend Scorpio suffered an ankle fracture while participating in The Wall. In the fourth episode a female contestant, Gemma Green had to pull out due to sustaining a knee injury in Gauntlet just before the Eliminator. David Staff broke his nose during the semi-finals while on Earthquake with Doom. However he went on to score points. He later went on to win the eliminator and eventually went on to win the series as Male champion. He also competed on the champion of champions special, aired on 5 April 2009, and won. Also Gladiator Warrior sustained an injury during gauntlet where contender Justin Thompson clashed and hit his head, and cut just above his eye. He was taken off and fellow gladiator “The Big O” Oblivion took his spot.
Gladiators G-Zone
Originally advertised as Gladiators: G-Force, this short ten-minute program profiled a selection of the gladiators, including Spartan, Panther and Atlas. With a 2min profile of Oblivion, not previously shown, appearing as part of a repeat run.
