Britain's Got Talent vs Gladiators: As Saturday night juggernauts go head-to-head in ratings battle - which show is bigger?

It was revealed that the upcoming episode Gladiators will be shifted from its usual 5.50pm time slot this Saturday (March 8) to make way for the BBC’s live coverage of the Six Nations match between Scotland and Wales.

As a result, the hit BBC revival series will air in the 7pm time slot instead. The new broadcast time means that it is the BBC vs ITV in the battle of the Saturday night juggernauts.

Gladiators will air at the same time as Britain’s Got Talent, which returned to screens for its 18th series just two weeks ago. Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon, and Bruno Tonioli are back with guest judge KSI to find the UK’s next talent star.

Gladiators and BGT normally avoid the ratings run-in, with the ITV talent competition normally airing from April. However, this year, BGT has been extended and stretched, beginning in late February instead, to fill the gap left by Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway.

As the two shows prepare for a Saturday showdown , we take a look at what the official data has to say about which programme could come out on top.

Is Britain’s Got Talent or Gladiators more popular?

According to the most recent viewing figure data from BARB for the premiere of Gladiators season two and BGT season 18, Britain’s Got Talent has just edged out its BBC competitor in the ratings.

BGT pulled in an average of 6.8 million viewers during the series 18 premiere episode, which aired on February 22. Gladiators on the other hand attracted a viewership of 4.76 million viewers for its series two premiere, according to BARB, which aired on the BBC on January 18.

The BBC’s revival series has remained steady throughout the series, attracting around 4.4 million to 4.2 million viewers per episode. More up-to-date data for the newest BGT episode is not yet available.