The iconic sports entertainment show Gladiators has once again proved its legendary status, following a hugely successful return to Utilita Arena Sheffield for the filming of Series 3, including an all-new Celebrity Special.

The Gladiators TV production began transforming the Arena into a giant recording studio in June and in July and August hosted 12 action-packed shows, attended by over 40,000 fans creating an electric atmosphere as the Gladiators faced off in epic battles.

Utilita Arena Sheffield, the proud home of Gladiators, provided the perfect stage for the spectacle and fans didn’t hold back. With nearly 12,000 foam fingers sold across four colours (red taking the crown with 3,932!), 3,000+ youth t-shirts snapped up, and 4,667 official programmes flying off the shelves, it was clearly a huge success!

Series 3 brought with it even bigger battles, new events, and a celebrity showdown that saw fitness coach Joe Wicks MBE, broadcaster Sam Thompson, Olympic Boxing Champion Nicola Adams OBE, and presenter Vogue Williams step up to the Gladiator gauntlet. And of course, the arena roared as fan favourites like Apollo, Sabre, Electro, and Giant returned to face a new wave of daring contenders.

Let's take a look back over another fantastic series of Gladiators 👇

🏗️ 18 day transformation into the Gladiators TV Set.

💪 7 days of Contender and Gladiator training.

📄 4 days of show rehearsals.

🎥 12 action-packed shows across 11 days of filming.

✨ 40,000 fans through our doors.

☝️ Almost 12,000 foam fingers sold by National Merchandise.

🎯 Bigger battles and new epic games.

⚒️ 3 days of show de-rigging.

⏰ An immeasurable amount of time worked by our amazing staff who have all helped pull this together, working alongside the Gladiators, BBC & Hungry Bear teams these past couple of months.

Following the success of Series 2, which pulled in 5.3 million viewers and became the most-watched Saturday night series on BBC iPlayer, it was no surprise the BBC chose to return to Sheffield, once again cementing its place as the spiritual home of Gladiators.

Further information about Gladiators: Celebrity Special including broadcast details will be announced in due course. Viewers can add Gladiators to their Watchlist on BBC iPlayer now.