Huge ITV primetime show AXED after being trounced in ratings by BBC’s Gladiators revival
CHALLENGE Show Ninja Warrior launched on ITV in 2015, fans of Gladiators were thrilled by its similarities to the then-defunct family favourite.
It had the same gruelling climbs, hair-raising leaps, and an almost-impossible ascent to the finish line of Ulrika Jonsson and John Fashanu’s Nineties classic.
But those echoes have proven to be the downfall of Chris Kamara’s doppelganger.
I can reveal that ITV has been forced to axe Ninja Warrior, as the reboot of Gladiators has smashed it in the ratings.
A source said: “For years Ninja Warrior was one of ITV’s biggest shows and scooped up all those families who missed Gladiators.
“Ben Shephard, Rochelle Humes, and Kammy made the series a big success.
“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.”
Gladiators will return to the BBC for a second series early next year and will include a celebrity special.
Ninja Warrior’s first series finale in May 2015 drew in 4.08 million viewers, with its best performance in February 2017 at 4.18 million.
After series five, the show took a three-year hiatus, then returned in September 2022 with a new Race For Glory format of head-to-head races against professional warriors.
A bit like on Gladiators…
Thanks but no planks
It’s the gripping, knee-trembling I’m A Celebrity opener that has proven too terrifying for many a household name.
But I can reveal that this year’s campmates, including Wag Coleen Rooney and boxer Barry McGuigan, won’t have to Walk The Plank because bosses have axed the trial.
The challenge saw celebs wobble along a plank suspended from the 100m-tall Focus Building in Surfer’s Paradise, Australia.
But producers have decided to change things this year and are replacing it with a new challenge – which they insist is just as scary.
A show source said: “Bosses are staying tight-lipped on what they’ve got lined up to replace the plank, but rest assured it will be equally as terrifying and exhilarating.
“They are pulling out all the stops to ensure the show has a spectacular launch that viewers won’t want to miss.”
Walk The Plank was introduced to the show’s curtain-raiser episodes in 2017.
Made In Chelsea star and former Queen of the Jungle Georgia Toffolo was among the first to take it on. Last year, the plank was replaced with a pole for the challenge, which had EastEnders actress Danielle Harold screaming in terror.
But one star who won’t be sad to see it go is Loose Women’s Charlene White – who was stuck on the edge of the plank for 45 minutes while fellow camper Babatunde Aleshe had a meltdown and then pulled out of the challenge in 2022.
ITV will need to have something very good up their sleeves to compete with that.
Weddy for Wolf Hall
WHEN Wolf Hall returns this weekend, the action will pick up exactly where things left off.
A teaser look at the first few minutes of the BBC One drama, which returns on Sunday at 9pm, flashes back to scenes of Claire Foy as Anne Boleyn in its last episode in 2015.
And interspersed with the brutal shots of her execution is the first look at Damian Lewis returning as King Henry VIII, as he weds his third wife, Jane Seymour, played by Kate Phillips.
Meeting with Mark Rylance as the power-hungry and social climbing Oliver Cromwell, Thomas Brodie-Sangster’s Rafe Sadler asks after the execution: “Did it have to be this way, so bloody?”
To which Oliver responds: “When negotiation and compromise fail, then the only course is to destroy your enemy before they wake in the morning, have the axe in your hand.”
The new series will also see the return of Jonathan Pryce as Cardinal Wolsey and Lilit Lesser as the young Princess Mary.
Witness Maggie’s arrival
Two new faces are joining the cast of Silent Witness as it gears up to return in 2025.
The new series will focus on a disturbing mystery that sees an elderly woman found dead in a cave.
Rivals actress Maggie Steed will play Harriet Maven, the new Head of the Lyell Centre, while The Witcher: Blood Origin actress Francesca Mills portrays crime analyst Kit Brooks.
Maggie said: “I’ve enjoyed it many times over the years, and it’s always been the most intriguing series going, so it’s been a thrill to join.”
It comes shortly after it was confirmed the drama series, which airs on BBC One and iPlayer, had been greenlit for a 29th series before the 28th has even aired.
The finale of the last series, which stars Emilia Fox and David Caves as forensic pathologists Nikki and Jack, ended on a cliffhanger as the two got engaged.
THE BEEB has green-lit another series of Garden Rescue. Presenter Charlie Dimmock will be helping makeover more outside space after signing up again for the hit show in 2025.
A source said: “Execs commissioned an 11th run before its latest series has even made it to air.”
Office? Not on my watch
The Office is one of the most successful sitcoms, watched and loved by millions around the world.
But one man who avoided tuning in to the Noughties BBC comedy was one of its biggest stars – Mackenzie Crook. The actor – who played workplace nerd Gareth Keenan – used to switch it off because he could not bear to be witness to his own performance.
He told Virgin Radio UK: “The Office was the one that opened all the doors for me, and I can watch that with the time passed.
“I don’t know if I could for a while afterwards, because I could see myself acting, everyone else seems to be completely natural.
“I’m lucky to have been afforded all the opportunities to do what I’ve done.”