'Gladiators must echo 1990s series to succeed'

David Blackmore (right) presents Gladpod with former Gladiator Jet, Diane Youdale (centre) and Paul Noddings

A Gladiators super fan who reminisces about the 1990s TV series in a weekly podcast says the show's reboot "needs to echo the original" to succeed.

Norfolk-based journalist David Blackmore has co-hosted GladPod with Diane Youdale, better known as former Gladiator Jet, since the pandemic.

In each episode, they meet a star who flexed their muscles back in the day.

"The original worked so well, so they need to doff their cap to that," said Mr Blackmore, of the new BBC series.

Mr Blackmore, who also teams up with TV producer Paul Noddings for the podcast, said he was "so excited" about the show's return.

"Just to hear that 'Contender, ready!' again, and to see the reaction on social media," he said.

"This is a whole new generation of people who don't even know who Wolf is, or have never heard of Jet, Hunter or Lightning.

"Suddenly the world of Gladiators is going to be thrust on their TV screens.

"I really do think it will bring back that family Saturday night TV that we haven't had in so long."

The show aired on ITV between 1992 and 2000 and pitted men and women against resident Gladiators in a series of physically challenging events.

A short-lived revival on Sky a few years later "did not work" because it strayed too far from the format, Mr Blackmore said.

Having met Ms Youdale in 2015, he discussed the idea of talking to former Gladiators for a podcast as the 30th anniversary approached.

"It's really nice having Jet on the podcast because she was everyone's favourite and every Gladiator who came after her, looked up to her," he said.

"People feel a lot more comfortable sharing their stories, 30 years on."

Many of the former Gladiators he and Jet have interviewed over the years said they never believed the show would return because of safety concerns.

"The big thing was the events; they were massive with great falls from height," he said.

"Clearly they've found a way of making it work.

"I just hope we still have all those key elements - David versus Goliath, cheering on the contestants, and the eliminator at the end.

"It looks like it will be very similar to the original series that we know and love, and that's the right step to take."

Gladiators begins on BBC One and iPlayer on Saturday at 17:50 GMT.