Celebrity Gladiators line-up revealed including BBC Breakfast and Strictly stars-Pierra Willix-Entertainment – Metro

The BBC has announced which celebrities will be competing in a new Gladiators special (Picture: BBC/ Hungry Bear Media)

Four celebrities are set to take on the gruelling Gladiators course to see if they can emerge victorious.

Earlier this year the BBC rebooted the beloved 90s series, which initially aired from 1992 until 2000.

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.

Presented by Bradley Walsh and his son, Barney, the new series became one of the most successful family entertainment launches for the BBC in seven years, attracting over six million viewers during its premiere episode.

Now four famous faces will be giving the challenge a go too.

Comedian Rob Beckett has signed up to put his body on the line (Picture: Ian West/ PA Wire)

The special episode will see stand-up comedian Rob Beckett, TV presenter and triathlete Louise Minchin, presenter and comedian Joel Dommett, and Ted Lasso star Ellie Taylor facing the ultimate test of speed and strength up against the power of the Gladiators before going head-to-head in the iconic Eliminator.

Speaking ahead of the event, 38-year-old Rob said he ‘can’t wait to be absolutely crushed by the Gladiators in front my wife and children in spandex whilst I watch Joel Dommett and his six-pack sprint past me on the travelator’.

‘This is going to be a catastrophic humiliation in front of the nation. I’ve got no idea why I agreed to this.  Is it too late to pull out?’ he questioned.

He will be joined by The Masked Singer host Joel Dommett (Picture: Ken McKay /ITV/ Shutterstock)

Meanwhile Gladiators superfan Louise, who previously hosted BBC Breakfast, said she was excited to take part after watching the series for years.

However, the 55-year-old has slightly mixed feelings after admitting it looked like ‘terrifying fun’.

The Masked Singer host Joel, 39, said he couldn’t believe he’d been cast.

Louise Minchin is anticipating ‘terrifying fun’ (Picture: Ken McKay/ ITV/ Shutterstock)

Ellie Taylor said she ‘cant’ wait to get chased’ (Picture: Image Press Agency/ NurPhoto/ Rex/ Shutterstock)

‘It’s always been my dream to be on that travelator. I’ve been illegally running up escalators backwards all my life in preparation and now it’s happening for real. Super excited to be up against all my favourite muscley people in leotards and have some fun!’ he quipped.

Ellie Taylor, who has appeared on Ted Lasso and Strictly Come Dancing, also had a hilarious reaction to being asked to appear.

‘Me being on Celeb Gladiators is the answer to the question “What’s the most elaborate thing you’d do to get your 5-year-old a foam finger?”. We all love the show in my house and I’m so excited to take part! I can’t wait to get chased by athletic goddesses and ask Viper about his childhood,’ she shared.

The show returned to screens earlier this year (Picture: BBC/ James Stack/ Hungry Bear Media Ltd)

One of the winners was Marie-Louise Nicholson, pictured with host Bradley Walsh (Picture: BBC/ James Stack/ Hungry Bear Media Ltd)

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

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

‘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.’

Finlay Anderson and Marie-Louise Nicholson were crowned Gladiators champions that same month after a tense final showdown and 11 weeks of gruelling challenges.

Gladiators is coming to BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

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