Celebrity Gladiators 2025 line-up: Meet the contestants

Taking to the arena, these four famous faces will go up against the 16 superhuman athletes to test their strength, speed and agility like they've never had to deal with before.

So who are the people agreeing to take this challenge on?

Here are the stars appearing in the Gladiators special...

Who is in the line-up of the Gladiators Celebrity Special?

Ellie Taylor

Age: 41

Job: Comedian and actress

Instagram: @elliejanetaylor

Stand-up comedian and Ted Lasso star Ellie Taylor is taking on the Gladiators arena to make her family proud – or at the very least, to get her daughter some great memorabilia.

"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?'," she said.

"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.”

Joel Dommett

Age: 39

Job: TV presenter

Instagram: @joeldommett

The Masked Singer and I'm A Celebrity: Unpacked host is rounding off the year by showing off his mettle as a contender in the Gladiators studio – and he's been hoping to do this for a while.

Ahead of taking to the arena, Joel joked he had been "practicing since he was a kid" by "running backwards up escalators".

After filming the show, RadioTimes.com caught up with Joel about his experience at the National Television Awards, where he told us he found the whole thing "mad".

"[It was] one of those weird things where you're like, 'Oh my god, I'm on the telly, like, I'm in Gladiators'," he said.

"But what I would say, [it's] way more scary in real life than it looks. It just looks fun on telly, it doesn't look scary and it is petrifying. Like, the Gladiators are so massive. Bradley was terrifying. It's like all terrifying!"

Rob Beckett

Age: 38

Job: Comedian and TV presenter

Instagram: @robbeckettcomic

While the rest of the contenders think they have what it takes, comedian Rob Beckett sounds like he's beginning to have doubts about his abilities.

"I 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 6 pack sprint past me on the travelator," he joked.

"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?"

Louise Minchin

Age: 56

Job: Newsreader

Instagram: @louiseminchin

Louise Minchin is best known as a newsreader – but she's about to become headline news as she goes head-to-head with the Gladiators and their challenges.

"I am so excited to be on Gladiators," she said. "I have watched the show for years and have always thought it looked like terrifying fun and I can’t wait to be part of it!"

Gladiators Celebrity Special airs New Year's Day (1st January) at 6pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

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