Massive ITV show ‘axed’ after BBC’s hit Gladiators revival dominates ratings-Alistair McGeorge-Entertainment – Metro

Ninja Warrior UK is said to have been quietly rested ‘for good’ (Picture: ITV/Rachel Joseph/REX/Shutterstock)

Ninja Warrior UK has reportedly been officially scrapped by ITV.

The hit challenge show first aired nine years ago and proved to be a huge success as it filled the gap left by Gladiators, which originally finished after eight years on ITV in 2000 before a short lived Sky reboot in 2008.

However, the BBC’s recent revival of the classic game show appears to have spelled the end for Ninja Warrior.

The first finale way back in May 2015 pulled in 4.08 million viewers, with a peak of 4.18m two years later before the programme went on hiatus in 2019.

Ninja Warrior returned three years later with its Race For Glory format which saw contestants racing against professional warriors – which was a very similar format to the OG.

As reported by The Sun, the show had been ‘one of ITV’s biggest’ for years as it appealed to ‘all those families who missed Gladiators’.

The show filled a gap for fans who missed Gladiators (Picture: ITV/Rachel Joseph/REX/Shutterstock)

But the BBC’s revival has been described as a ‘death knell’ for the show (Picture: BBC / James Stack / Hungry Bear Media Ltd)

However, a source added: ‘But when the BBC revived Gladiators last year, it sounded the death knell for ITV’s ninjas.

‘It was an absolute ratings champion, pulling in over six million viewers versus 1.6 million for Ninja Warrior’s last series in 2022. A decision was therefore taken to rest Ninja Warrior for good.’

Ninja Warrior starred Ben Shephard, Rochelle Humes and Chris Kamara, but viewership was falling back the time the show returned two years ago.

The programme was hosted by Ben Shephard, Rochelle Humes and Chris Kamara (Picture: ITV)

Bradley and Barney Walsh host the Gladiators reboot (Picture: BBC / James Stack / Hungry Bear Media Ltd)

In contrast, Gladiators was a massive success in January 2024 with Bradley Walsh and his son Barney at the helm, and a second series is coming in early 2025 plus a celebrity special.

The sports entertainment game show sees four contestants split into pairs and compete in a series of physically challenging events against the show’s resident ‘Gladiators’, a group of elite athletes.

They then go on to compete in a final event, the Eliminator, to determine the overall champions.

Gladiators will return for a new series early next year – plus a celebrity special (Picture: BBC / Nick Eagle / Hungry Bear Media Ltd)

Gladiators’ producer Dan Baldwin previously confirmed the BBC had commissioned a celebrity spin-off after the huge success of the comeback series.

‘You always look at old shows no longer on television. You are always coming up with new ways of bringing back a show,’ he explained to BBC Radio 4.

‘There’s nothing wrong with that because those shows were great for a reason. We’ve always got an eye on what could come back and be a hit like Gladiators is.’

Metro.co.uk has contacted ITV for comment.

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