Gladiators 2024 semi-final: Sheffield's Jake and Bronte face off against Bolton’s Betti & Finlay from Scotland

The nation has been loving a bit of nostalgia brought on by the sight of muscular folk wearing sparkly lycra and hearing the unmistakable cry of “Gladiators, ready!” every Saturday night. The reboot of such classic 90s TV could have gone either way but the nation seems to have got behind it with six million viewers tuning in to watch the launch show.

Hosted by father and son duo Bradley and Barney Walsh, the pair have brought some lighthearted wit to the proceedings. And Gladiators has always been a huge part of the Walsh family - Donna Walsh, Barney’s mum and Bradley’s wife, was head choreographer for the Gladiator cheerleaders on the original series with Bradley, and a very young Barney, regular visitors on set.

The new series is filmed at the Utilita Arena in Sheffield and features Gladiators Apollo, Athena, Bionic, Comet, Diamond, Dynamite, Electro, Fire, Fury, Giant, Legend, Nitro, Phantom, Sabre, Steel and Viper. The latter is clearly the 2020s version of the inimitable Wolf from the original show, and judging by the banners held up in the crown, fans have already selected their favourites from the group. Legend has stepped up as the character the crowd loves to hate - but secretly love really.

The first iteration of the show was hosted by Ulrika Jonsson and John Fashanu, and later by Jeremy Guscott. It ran on ITV from 1992 to 2000 before being revived by Sky in 2008, hosted by Ian Wright and Kirsty Gallacher, and then by Caroline Flack, however the comeback was short-lived, being cancelled the following year in 2009.

But the BBC has turned the show’s fortunes around and viewers will be switching on in their droves to watch this week’s semi-final. Returning to the arena are steelworker Jake and firefighter Bronte competing in front of a hometown crowd against Bolton’s Betti and army officer Finlay from Scotland. The Radio Times tells us to “expect bruising battles, plot twists, tension and controversial interventions from referee Mark Clattenburg”.

:: The next episode of Gladiators is on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Saturday (March 9) at 5.50pm. Tune in to see the contenders battle it out for a place in the Gladiators Final.