Gladiators bosses 'eye up Davina McCall and Mark Wright' for celebrity spin-off show
With the return of Gladiators and it being a huge hit with television fans, the creators have announced a celebrity spin-off. It's now reported that bosses already know which famous faces they want to compete.
According to The Sun, Davina McCall is top of the wish list for the spin-off show. The presenter, who most recently worked on My Mum, Your Dad, had hoped to host the series when it returned in 2024.
When the news hit that Gladiators was getting a reboot, Davina took to social media and said: “Bagsy present it.”
However, it was Bradley and Barney Walsh who booked the gig and the father-and-son duo were a big hit with fans.
Bradley and Barney have their own television show Breaking Dad, so presenting as a partnership was not out of the ordinary.
At the time, Bradley said: “It’s lovely to be working with Barns again. We had to talk him into it! Oh, yeah, we had to talk about it because we’ve done so much ‘Breaking Dad’ and I’m sick to death of keep getting thrown off buildings by him.”
Barney added: “I think the beauty of us doing it as a pair is that it’s a complete generational thing. And the people who watched the original Gladiators are all grown up with children of their own.”
Other celebrity contestants that the BBC reportedly want to see on the show are TOWIE’s Mark Wright and Made in Chelsea’s Spencer Matthews.
A TV insider told The Sun: “The BBC want big name contestants with the kind of strength and agility needed to compete with the intimidating gang of gladiators.
“Davina is incredibly fit and already looks keen to be involved, even if she has only previously talked about lending her presenting skills.
“As for the blokes, the producers love the idea of getting the fellas in to see if their gym-honed muscles are just for show or if they’ve got genuine brawn.”
In April 2024, executive producer and managing director of Hungry Bear Media, Dan Baldwin, announced on BBC Radio 4: "I can reveal we are going to do a celebrity special.
"You always look at old shows that are no longer on television. You are always coming up with new ways of bringing back a show. It's no exaggeration to say that the response to Gladiators has been phenomenal."
The reboot was a huge hit with viewers and millions of people tuned in to see the competitions before Finlay Anderson and Marie-Louise Nicholson were crowned the 2024 winners.
OK! has contacted the BBC and representatives for Davina, Mark and Spencer for comment.
