Ninja Warrior UK is a British physical obstacle assault course game show, created for ITV. The show was based upon the format of Japanese game showSasuke, created by Ushio Higuchi, which was aired in the United Kingdom and other countries as Ninja Warrior. Presented by Ben Shephard, Chris Kamara and Rochelle Humes, the show focuses on around 250 contestants tackling a variety of obstacles along an assault course, the most notable being the "warped wall", and achieving a fast time or going the furthest to qualify for the semi-finals and the finals, with the winner of the contest being crowned "Ninja Warrior UK" for that year. At present, the show has aired five series with first winner Stuart Hammond and one celebrity special for Text Santa.
Format
Each series' competition is divided into three stages - five Qualifier Rounds, two Semi-Finals, and the Final - and features around 250 contestants taking part. The assault course that is used on the programme is contained within a specially made studio, and features a variety of obstacles either taken from or based upon Sasuke, with both the warped wall and the "Quintuple Steps" being used in every episode. Each qualifier round consists of fifty contestants, and features six obstacles used in the course, four of which differ between the rounds - for example, the first qualifier might feature a swing rope obstacle, but the second qualifier might switch it for a monkey-bar styled obstacle. To qualify, contestants must be within the top ten, either by getting the furthest on the course, or if they complete it, having the fastest time. From the fifth series onwards, only those who have successfully completed the Qualifier Round will advance to the Semi-Finals. After the qualifiers, the remaining semi-finalists are split evenly between the two semi-finals, and tackle nine obstacles. Unlike the qualifiers, the first six obstacles must be completed within a set time-limit, but contestants then can freely tackle the remaining three obstacles in their own time. Unlike the qualifiers however, the top twenty contestants in the semi-finals would move on to the eliminator, based on who got the furthest or achieved the fastest time. Once in the eliminator, the twenty finalists tackle three separate stages of obstacles - while the first two stages are timed, with the first stageconsisting of nine obstacles and the second consisting of five, the final stage is untimed and consists of three obstacles. In recent years, these obstacles have varied very little and have included the Crazy Cliffhanger, Spider Flip and Flying Bar. Whoever manages to go the furthest or completes all three stages, is declared "The Last Man Standing" and wins. However, in the event that one or more contestants beats all three stages, they then tackle one more obstacle to determine the winner - climbing "Mount Midoriyama" with a rope. Should they complete this, they have then achieved total victory and are declared "Ninja Warrior UK". From Season 5 onwards, Stage 1 of the finals is now dubbed the Eliminator. The show's format features a similar approach to that of Total Wipeout, in that footage in episodes focuses on the highlights of runs by contestants. Commentary of a contestant's run is mainly done by the presenters Shephard and Kamara, while Humes would often interview contestants before their run, and occasionally if they failed a run; in some instances, if a contestant's run was successful, especially during the qualifiers, the interview would be handled by Shephard and Kamara.
Series overview
Series 1 (2015)
The first series of Ninja Warrior UK was aired during 2015, from 11 April to 30 May. Of the contestants that made it to the final, none of the finalists managed to complete all three stages. As a result, the winner was declared as Timothy Shieff, who managed to go the furthest. The series drew favourable viewing figures, leading ITV to renew the show for a second series on 29 May 2015.
Series 2 (2016)
The second series of Ninja Warrior UK was aired during 2016, from 2 January to 13 February. Of the contestants that made it to the final, only three finalists made it to the second stage before failing on the same obstacle. Of these three, Owen McKenzie was declared the winner, having managed to go the furthest.
Series 3 (2017)
The third series of Ninja Warrior UK was aired from 31 December 2016 to 18 February 2017. Of the contestants that made it to the final, only two made it to the final stage before failing. Of these two, Jonny Urzuly was declared the winner, having managed to go the furthest.
Series 4 (2018)
The fourth series of Ninja Warrior UK was aired from 14 April to 2 June 2018. Unlike previous series, it was announced on 28 August 2017 that the competition would feature a selection of celebrity contestants, including Gethin Jones, Harry Judd, Jenni Falconer and Marvin Humes. A re-run of the series will be shown between June and July 2020.
Series 5 (2019)
The fifth series of Ninja Warrior UK began airing from 13 April to 1 June 2019. The winner was Tim Champion, who became the first UK competitor to attempt and complete the Mount Midoriyama rope climb within 45 seconds, doing so with just 1 second to spare.
Series 6 (2021)
From Spring 2020, the past series were issued as re-runs due to a sixth series being postponed due to the Manchester Central Convention Complex being renovated into a temporary hospital during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. ITV then later revealed in June 2020 that Series 6 was slated for a 2021 airdate; of which will not be known until later in 2020. Production and filming is set to commence later this year, with physical distancing measures in place. Applications for the new series will be available in Autumn 2020.
Celebrity specials
On 18 December 2015, a special celebrity edition of Ninja Warrior UK was aired in association with the Text Santa charity; the winner was Louise Hazel.
