Gladiators is an Australian television series which aired on the Seven Network in 2008. It was a revival of the earlier series of the same name, and was based on the American version of the show, which was also revived in 2008.
The revival of Gladiators was first announced in September 2007, and premiered on 30 March 2008 at 6:30 pm. The Challengers in this series competed to win A$50,000 and a new Subaru Forester. The revival lasted for one season.
In July 2023, following the BBC’s revival of the British version, the show was confirmed to return for the second time, set to be revived by Warner Bros. Television Studios and began broadcasting on Network Ten on 15 January 2024, hosted by Beau Ryan and Liz Ellis, but was cancelled in May later that year due to a lack of audience.
Production The show was filmed at The Dome at the Sydney Showground, and was hosted by Tom Williams and Zoe Naylor. Well known NRL referee Bill Harrigan was one of the two referees for the show, the other was John Forsythe, who was a referee on the original series. Although not credited, the Sydney Altitude Cheerleaders were present in every episode, doing various routines throughout each episode whether an event was taking place or not.
Behind the scenes, military fitness expert 'Chief' Brabon (head strength & conditioning coach) was responsible for preparing the gladiators for their extremely physical roles.
Selection process To ensure that both Gladiators, and Challengers were of the highest possible calibre, all prospects were submitted to a grueling physical selection process designed by the shows head strength & conditioning coach 'Chief' Brabon.
Chief's gruelling 'Barrier Test' was based on similar selection programs that he had designed for elite military and law enforcement tactical response teams around the world.
The barrier test was so successful at vetting would-be Gladiators & Challengers that less than 10% of applicants successfully completed the first event known as the "Grunt Challenge". The challenge required participants to do a burpee style exercise (Grunts) to a cadence called by Chief himself. Prospective Challengers were required to complete a minimum of 75 Grunts to pass through to the next event, whereas Gladiators were required to complete 100 Grunts.
Pre-series training Once Chief and the producers had selected the final 13 Gladiators, they entered Chief's intensive 6 week preparation program known as "Camp Agoga". Along with wife and fellow coach Emilie Brabon-Hames, Chief set about transforming the team both aesthetically and athletically, in order to achieve their demigod like looks and ability.
Results Note: Challengers which are bolded advanced through to the next stage. Times listed next to the challengers' name is their runtime for the Eliminator. DNR indicates the challenger did not run the Eliminator due to the other challenger pulling out from injury. The colour indicates what the challenger was wearing for each episode. The challengers also have the state they were from represented next to their name.
Men
The eventual winner of the Grand Final was Paul Baird from Victoria (the youngest challenger of the series).
Women
Winner of the Grand Final was Natasha Haines (now Natasha Anderson) from Victoria.
Episodes
Episode Scores
Heat 1 Female EventsGladiatorsGauntlet100Bionica, Olympia, Destiny, Viper, AmazonDuel010 - Foul On AmazonDestiny & AmazonPyramid00Olympia & ViperPendulum00Angel & NitroTotal scores1010 Male EventsGladiatorsGauntlet100Outlaw, Hunter, Tank, Kouta, ThunderDuel00Kouta & ThunderPyramid1010 - Foul On OutlawScar & OutlawPendulum100Nomad & HunterTotal scores3010 The Eliminator
Winners: Natasha and Damien
Incidents
Duel: Amazon stepped onto Bryony's platform before falling off and was disqualified. But the result remained the same. Pyramid: Outlaw tackled Sam while he was on the first step, which you cannot do.
Heat 2 Female EventsGladiatorsHit & Run20Destiny, Bionica, Olympia, ViperThe Wall100Angel & NitroSumo Ball10 - Foul & Amazon Ejected5Amazon & ViperPyramid00Olympia & DestinyTotal scores225 Male EventsGladiatorsHit & Run44Thunder, Tank, Kouta, ScarThe Wall100Nomad & HunterSumo Ball00Thunder & TankPyramid00 - Foul On ChallengerOutlaw & KoutaTotal scores144 The Eliminator
Winners: Georgie and Nathan
Incidents
Sumo Ball: Amazon took her hands off the ball while Georgie was still on the platform. She was initially warned, but was later ejected for insulting Bill Harrigan. Pyramid: Nathan was disqualified for grabbing Kouta first. Bill checked who was at fault because if Kouta had been disqualified, Nathan would have been awarded 10 points.
Heat 3 Female EventsGladiatorsHang Tough00 - Jules InjuredAngel & NitroAtlaspheres46Destiny & BionicaSuspension Bridge100Amazon & DestinyVerigo010Olympia & ViperTotal scores1416 Male EventsGladiatorsHang Tough10 - Foul & Warning on Outlaw0Outlaw & NomadAtlaspheres00Kouta & ThunderSuspension Bridge00Tank & ThunderVertigo010Scar & HunterTotal scores1416 The Eliminator
Winners: Nicole and Nick
Incidents
Hang Tough: Outlaw grabbed Marcus by the collarbone area where Catherine Arlove was injured in 1996. As of 2008, a new rule was established making grabbing near the collarbone area illegal. As a result, Outlaw was given a yellow card, and Marcus was given ten points. Hang Tough/Atlaspheres: Jules was injured in the ribs and could not carry on after one event. As a result, Nicole replaced her.
Heat 4 Female EventsGladiatorsPendulum1010Viper & OlympiaGauntlet00Bionica, Nitro, Destiny, Viper, AmazonHang Tough510 - Foul On AngelNitro & AngelPowerball2 - Rony Injured2 - Foul on AmazonAmazon, Viper, DestinyTotal scores1722 Male EventsGladiatorsPendulum1010Hunter & ScarGauntlet105Scar, Tank, Kouta, Hunter, ThunderHang Tough50Outlaw & HunterPowerball22Outlaw, Scar, KoutaTotal scores2717 The Eliminator
Winners: Phillip and Ashleigh
Incidents
Hang Tough: Ashleigh would have had five points for hanging in the scoring zone. But Angel was disqualified for holding onto a ring for more than ten seconds. As a result, Ashleigh was given an extra five points for a total of 10 points for this event. Powerball: Amazon Tackled Ashleigh above the shoulder, and two penalty points were awarded instead of a yellow card because there wasn't a stoppage. Powerball: Rony sustained a knee injury after a tackle from Amazon. If an injury occurs before the eliminator, they forefit and can't be replaced. Hence, Ashley did not run the eliminator.
Heat 5 Female EventsGladiatorsDuel00Amazon & DestinyVertigo00Olympia & AngelPyramid00Viper & BionicaHit & Run610Angel, Nitro, Olympia, ViperTotal scores610 Male EventsGladiatorsDuel0 - Foul On Challenger0Tank & ThunderVertigo010 - Scar wasn't even closeOutlaw & ScarPyramid00Kouta & HunterHit & Run126Tank, Nomad, Outlaw, KoutaTotal scores1216 The Eliminator
Winners: Jacqueline and Joseph
Incidents
Duel: Shaun touched Tank's platform, which meant he was disqualified.
Heat 6 Female EventsGladiatorsGauntlet10 - Missed Disqualification Call0Bionica, Olympia, Destiny, Viper, AmazonHit & Run60Nitro, Viper, Olympia, AngelSumo Ball100Destiny & AmazonThe Wall105Nitro & AngelTotal scores365 Male EventsGladiatorsGauntlet0 - Warning on Thunder10 - Foul on TankHunter, Tank, Kouta, Outlaw, ThunderHit & Run00Scar, Kouta, Hunter, NomadSumo Ball00Thunder & ScarThe Wall100 - Nikolai Injured but ClearedHunter & NomadTotal scores1010 The Eliminator
Winners: Kim and Lincoln
Incidents
Gauntlet: Kim ran at Bionica and put her hands on Bionica's battle stick. She would have been disqualified for pushing Bionica out of the way. But Bill Harrigan and John Forsyth couldn't figure out if she actually did. So she was awarded the points. Gauntlet: Thunder pushed Lincoln after the whistle into a camera operator and was yellow carded. Gauntlet: Tank also pushed Nikolai outside his zone and was disqualified, awarding Nikolai 10 penalty points. The Wall/Eliminator: Nikolai picked up an injury on the wall but was cleared to run the eliminator. However, it didn't make much difference to the outcome.
Heat 7 Female EventsGladiatorsGauntlet100Bionica, Olympia, Destiny, Viper, AmazonDuel00Destiny & AmazonPendulum00Angel & NitroPyramid10 - Foul on Viper0Viper & OlympiaTotal scores200 Male EventsGladiatorsGauntlet0 - Foul on Thunder0 - Foul & Warning on ChallengerOutlaw, Tank, Kouta, Hunter, ThunderDuel00Kouta & TankPendulum10 - Foul On Nomad10Nomad & HunterPyramid0 - James Injured0Scar & OutlawTotal scores2010 The Eliminator
Winners: Simon and Michaela
Incidents
Gauntlet: James cleared the gauntlet with more than 2 seconds left which would have earned him five points. But Thunder held him down with his bare hands instead of the battle stick which awarded James an extra five points for a total of 10 for this event. Thunder was disqualified for this run. Gauntlet: Simon pushed Thunder after the whistle. As a result, he got a yellow card. If he got a red card, James would win automatically without a challenger replacement. Pendulum: Nomad used a scissor takedown like in Hang Tough, which you can't do as a gladiator on the pendulum. You can only take the tag. Ten points were awarded to James. Pyramid: Viper did not release Michelle at the bottom of the pyramid and was disqualified. 10 points to Michelle. Pyramid: James suffered a shoulder injury against Scar on the pyramid. He couldn't carry on and had to forefit the competition without a replacement. Meaning Simon could not run the eliminator.
Heat 8 Female EventsGladiatorsSuspension Bridge00Viper & AmazonPowerball24Bionica, Olympia, NitroHang Tough010Angel & NitroAtlaspheres26Bionica & DestinyTotal scores420 Male EventsGladiatorsSuspension Bridge00Kouta & TankPowerball06Kouta, Tank, OutlawHang Tough00Hunter & OutlawAtlaspheres6 - Thunder Ejected4Scar & ThunderTotal scores610 The Eliminator
Winners: Paul and Kristine
Incidents
Powerball: Paul picked up a ball from the floor instead of the side basket when he placed it in a pod. That score did not count. Atlaspheres: Thunder pushed Hayden inside of his atlasphere after Zoe interviewed Hayden, and Thunder raged. Bill warned him, and Scar tried to calm him down. But Thunder ate the yellow card and got ejected.
Quarter-Final 1 Female EventsGladiatorsPendulum00Olympia & NitroWhiplash00Amazon & DestinyGauntlet1010Bionica, Olympia, Viper, Nitro, AmazonThe Wall010Nitro & AngelTotal scores1020 Male EventsGladiatorsPendulum010Outlaw & HunterWhiplash100 - Foul on ChallengerTank & ThunderGauntlet510 - Foul on ScarTank, Nomad, Kouta, Scar, ThunderThe Wall510Scar & OutlawTotal scores2030 The Eliminator
Winners: Natasha and Nick
Incidents
Whiplash: Nick held the dogbone with two hands and was disqualified. Gauntlet: Scar tackled Nick outside his zone and was disqualified giving Nick ten penalty points.
Quarter-Final 2 Female EventsGladiatorsAtlaspheres02Bionica & DestinyVertigo00Olympia & AngelSuspension Bridge10 - Foul On Amazon10 - Foul On DestinyAmazon & DestinyPyramid100Viper & NitroTotal scores2012 Male EventsGladiatorsAtlaspheres44Kouta & HunterVertigo1010Scar & HunterSuspension Bridge00Tank & ThunderPyramid00Kouta & OutlawTotal scores1414 The Eliminator
Winners: Georgie and Phillip
Incidents
Atlaspheres: Georgie was in the blue ball and Ashleigh was in the red ball at Bionica's request. Suspension Bridge: Amazon was supposed to attack. The challenger was supposed to attack. Amazon did not attack at all and was once again disqualified from the match against Georgie. Suspension Bridge: Destiny took her hands off her own hammerhead and used Ashleigh's hammerhead to remain balanced. Destiny was also disqualified.
Quarter-Final 3 Female EventsGladiatorsGauntlet0 - Foul On Challenger5Bionica, Olympia, Destiny, Viper, AmazonHang Tough50Angel & NitroPowerball80Viper, Bionica, OlympiaSumo Ball0 - Foul On Challenger0Amazon & DestinyTotal scores135 Male