Gladiators - Events guide

The entertainment show which took the nation by storm in the 90s is back and it's bigger, louder and more extreme than ever before. Ian Wright and Kirsty Gallacher preside, as 32 Contenders take on TV's toughest challenges in the hope of being crowned series champion and winning the £50,000 prize. Take a look at our guide to the events!

DUEL

Standing on opposite podiums and armed with pugil sticks, the Gladiator and Contender must try and knock each other off to the crash mats below.

EARTHQUAKE

Contenders wrestle a Gladiator in an effort to force them off a hanging ring as it pitches and yaws 15 feet above the arena floor.

GAUNTLET

Contenders attempt to run a 45 metre long gauntlet which is divided into five sections with a Gladiator protecting each zone. The Gladiators use ramrods and power-pads in order to stop the Contender from entering the next section.

HANG TOUGH

Hang Tough is a game of aerial chess played above the arena floor. Contender and Gladiator stand on platforms at opposite ends of the arena and in-between them is the playing area, consisting of 60 rings. On the whistle, both competitors commence towards each other by swinging and traversing the rings.
The Contender's objective is to reach the Gladiator's platform while the Gladiator is trying to wrench them from the rings to the crash mats below.
Half of the rings (on the Gladiator's side) are named the 'scoring zone'; the Contenders must reach this area to be in with a chance of scoring any points.

HIT & RUN

The Contender must attempt to run across a suspension bridge which is raised in the air. On either side of the bridge are two platforms with two Gladiators on each. Each Gladiator controls a demolition ball which is suspended from the arena ceiling and acts as a pendulum as it is swung across the bridge, in an attempt to remove the Contender. The Contender has to successfully cross the bridge and touch the back handrail as many times as possible within the time limit, without being knocked to the safety mats below.

POWERBALL

In this event, Contenders have to score as many points as possible by depositing as many balls as they can into the five equally spaced scoring pods within the time limit. Each Contender is assigned a Gladiator whose aim is to stop them scoring by tackling them to the floor, or putting them out of bounds in order to put the ball out of play.

PYRAMID

Two Contenders stand at the bottom of a 7.5 metre high Pyramid. The Contenders' objective is to climb the steps of the Pyramid within the time limit. At the red safety step of the Pyramid two Gladiators await the Contenders, determined to stop them from reaching the summit by wrestling, tumbling and throwing them to the safety mats below.

THE WALL

Contenders have to climb a 10 metre high wall and after 10 seconds for the men and 15 seconds for the women, the Gladiators will chase them, trying to prevent them from reaching the top by pulling them off The Wall.

THE ELIMINATOR

The Contenders go head-to-head in the Eliminator, a gruelling obstacle course spanning the arena. Against the clock, the Contender with the most points from the prior events has a head start - each point above the score of the rival Contender is worth half a second head start.
Contenders have to vault over and scramble under three beams, climb a cargo net, climb a rope up to the overhead ladder for women, or the handbike for men, cross a trapeze, climb another cargo net to an aerial platform, fly down a zip line to the arena floor and then cross two see-saws to the moment when the whole show is won or lost - the strength-sapping Travelator.
After a successful run, the Contenders swing through the paper burst.
Adding to all of this, fire and water have been introduced to increase the difficulty of the already formidable and iconic Eliminator.