Gladiators star: Reboot shows fans there is ‘no point’ in putting others down

Gladiators star Dynamite has said they want to show young viewers you can be competitive but that there is “no point putting contenders down” in the new reboot.

The sports entertainment show, which was originally broadcast from 1992 to 2000, is set to return to screens on Saturday with 16 new “superhumans” all eager to show off their speed and strength.

Presenter Bradley Walsh and his son Barney will host the 11-episode series, which will see the Gladiators take on Contenders in new and old games, culminating with classic challenge The Eliminator.

Appearing on BBC Breakfast on Friday, one of the new Gladiators, who will be known as Dynamite, confirmed the athletes will be paying compliments to contenders for the effort they put in.

She said: “As natural sports people we want to show all those younger kids that you can be competitive and it is okay to want to win, but we also want to show that if you lose, that’s also okay as well.

“There’s no point putting contenders down and making them feel bad.”

The 20-year-old full-time elite CrossFit athlete, whose real name is Emily Steel, revealed she is “quite nice” on the show but that villainous-style characters will return.

Fellow Gladiator Apollo added: “I think everyone will have their favourites, there’s people playing certain roles within the show.

“We’ve got some guys who are bad to the bone and others (who are) more hero type.”

The 29-year-old, whose real name is Alex Gray, previously played in the England rugby sevens team before transferring over to the NFL.

He said he was a “huge fan” of the original show and would watch it every week with his brothers.

The athlete added: “A lot of guys like myself, girls like myself are now in their 30s, have kids of their own and that cycle is just starting again.

“So it’s amazing time to be bringing this back.”

Whereas Dynamite is part of the new generation of fans as she was born after it finished.

She admitted she did not first understand the scale of the show and had to get clued up by watching videos of the previous Gladiators and challenges.

Also among the line-up are Olympians, bodybuilders and weightlifting champions.

Gladiators will launch on BBC One on January 13 at 5.50pm and be available to rewatch on the iPlayer.