The BBC reboot of Gladiators is one of TV’s biggest hits so far in 2024. But amid the sports entertainment hijinks involving spandex-wearing stars such as Diamond, Fury, and Viper – and hosts Bradley and Barney Walsh – a clip from the original ITV series has resurfaced on social media making it clear how hard contestants push themselves for telly challenge glory.
A staple of every episode of Gladiators was, and still is, the Eliminator. Comprising of a gruelling obstacle course that appears to be constructed in a soft play area, the Eliminator was/is the final hurdle contestants face as they compete against one another to determine the episode’s winners, having battled the Gladiators in previous rounds.
However, in the clip doing the rounds, two exhausted challengers struggled with the draining Travelator component of the Eliminator. Competing against the clock, contestants had to pump their legs as hard as they could to reach the top of the conveyor-belted slope rolling downwards as weary competitors battled to move in the opposite direction. And once they did it, all they had to do to complete the Eliminator was swing on a rope and drop onto a crash mat.
Classic clip from the original Gladiators
But in the footage below from the 1990s, the tanks of both competitors were clearly empty. Still, with the encouragement of the crowd in the Gladiators arena going wild, they kept going… again, and again, and again. Fans reckon it is the ‘most dramatic TV moment ever’, with one Twitter user commenting on supporters’ incredulous reactions: “No one can bear to look – the tension’s unbearable.”
I’m not exaggerating when I say #gladiators gave us one of the best and most dramatic moments in television history. pic.twitter.com/h6wwtPzc89
— SHANE REACTION (@imshanereaction) January, 2024
How social media fans have reacted
Another user agreed the twists and turns in the sequence proved “nail biting TV!”
While someone else added: “I need a lie down after watching that.”
I need a lie down after watching that.
At one point in the clip, as the contestants attempted to overcome their fatigue, the Gladiators soundtrack ‘played out’, emphasising the unique circumstances.
“They literally ran out of music!” gasped one poster.
“I’ve never heard the end of the music before!” added another.
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Meanwhile, other watchers of the clip were blown away at how seeing it again transported them back decades.
“OMG I remember that and screaming at the TV lol,” chuckled one.
“Remember this vividly. Awesome,” said a second.
And another person who had a strong reaction wrote: “I was SCREAMING at the telly at this like I had some sort of investment in the outcome. Classic.”
Read more: Gladiators: Filming location, how to be in the audience, and how to apply for series two
Gladiators 2024 continues on Saturday February 3 at 7.10pm, on BBC One.
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