Gladiators, Winterwatch and Dragons' Den: TV highlights this week
Gladiators (Saturday 18/01/25, BBC1, 5.50pm)
Words by Rachael Popow
The return of Gladiators last year proved to be a huge hit – an impressive 8.7 million viewers watched the first episode, making it the BBC’s biggest launch for an entertainment show in seven years.


What’s more, the audience wasn’t just made up of nostalgic viewers looking to relive their fond memories of watching the show in the 1990s. An impressive proportion of fans were viewers who were far to young to know their Wolf from their Hunter.
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Hide AdAs Kalpna Patel-Knight, Head of Entertainment at the BBC said: “The return of Gladiators has taken the nation by storm with viewing figures showing that Saturday nights in are back on BBC One for all the family.
“The hugely popular presenting duo of Bradley and Barney [Walsh] combined with the timeless excitement of seeing the Gladiators and contenders in action means the series continues to captivate audiences across the UK.”
Of course, the Walshes were already familiar to viewers and had their own history with the format. (Bradley’s wife was head choreographer for the Gladiator cheerleaders ‘G-Force’ on the original series, and he once competed in a celebrity special, while Barney took some of his first steps on the arena floor.)
However, the public also took the new Gladiators themselves to their hearts. For proof, look at how many of them have since turned up on other shows, including Fire (Montell Douglas), who got to show her softer side on the most recent series of Strictly Come Dancing.
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Hide AdHer fellow warrior Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, aka Nitro, also took part in the Strictly Christmas special, but sadly he won’t be showing off his fancy footwork in the new series of Gladiators. After suffering an injury, he’ll be spending the new run on the sidelines.
Nitro took to Instagram to explain: “Speed is my thing, but sometimes life throws a curveball!
“During training for series two earlier this year, I picked up an unexpected knee injury, which means I’ll be shifting gears this series and sitting out the events.
“But don’t worry, I’m recharging and more energised than ever! You’ll still catch me bringing the Nitro spirit to your screens, hyping up my fellow Gladiators, and keeping the energy sky-high. Bring on series two of Gladiators!”
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Hide AdHis (and our) wait is over tonight as Bradley and Barney meet the latest crop of contenders who think they are up to the challenge of taking on the superhuman Gladiators in five brutal events before going head-to-head in the gruelling Eliminator.
We’re promised that Giant will meet his match on the duel podium, Viper finally breaks his silence and we witness the long-awaited return of the legendary, metal-crunching event, Atlaspheres (aka the one where it looks like the competitors are in giant hamster balls).
But who will make the biggest impression, and will we get to see the two new Gladiators, whose identities have been kept a secret, in action? We’re about to find out – and the Gladiators are definitely ready!
Out There (Sunday 19/01/25, ITV1, 9pm)
Words by Sarah Morgan
He made his name playing the hapless, immature Gary Strang in Men Behaving Badly, but Martin Clunes couldn’t be less like his alter ego if he tried.
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Hide AdFor a start, he’s incredibly hard-working, with numerous new projects on the way throughout 2025. And although he’s taken a step back from acting recently, following the end of the hugely successful comedy-drama Doc Martin in 2022, he’s returning to the dramatic world with his latest project, Out There.
Co-written by Ed Whitmore and director Marc Evans, who also worked on another ITV/Clunes hit, Manhunt, it focuses on the thorny subject of county lines drug-dealing.
“I’ve not personally come across it but I know it goes on in Bridport and West Bay and all along the coast,” says the much-loved actor, who lives with his family on a farm in Dorset. “The drama is about boundaries and land and all the threats to farming that we know are there. It’s not like Doc Martin – it’s pretty dark.”
In the series, Clunes plays Nathan, a Welsh farmer whose 15-year-old son Johnny (Louis Ashbourne Serkis) reconnects with Rhys, an old friend. That seems fine, until it becomes clear that Rhys is leading a double life as a drug dealer; he’s part of a county lines operation in which urban gangs move drugs and money between inner-city hubs and provincial areas.
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Hide Ad“Johnny gets involved with this really nasty character, Kenny, a career criminal,” explains Clunes. “Johnny has this crush on this girl, Sadie, and her brother Rhys is involved with drugs. He is slightly older than the two of them. One night Sadie is attacked by this villain, Kenny, and she carries a blade which she stabs him with. Johnny comes rushing in, grabs the blade and ends up killing Kenny. Then he calls his Dad for help.”
And that’s when things get really difficult… Some Clunes fans may be surprised to see him tackle such a subject, but he couldn’t wait to get his teeth into it, so much so, Buffalo Pictures, the company he runs with his wife, Philippa Braithwaite, produced the series.
“Ed Whitmore and Marc Evans approached us with it as an idea. This seemed like a story worth telling about the spread of the county lines drug business and the threat that it poses to people.
“We researched the whole county lines problem with Marc and Ed. While this is a work of fiction, the way that business model works is represented accurately because the research was so thorough. I was shocked by certain things – shocked by the stabbing. There is a story of a stabbing every day in the news, and that callous approach to life, the way these kids are used as a disposable work force.”
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Hide AdAfter such a heavy project, Clunes was no doubt pleased to move onto lighter work – watch out for him later this year in Neil & Martin’s Bon Voyage, a travelogue featuring his old mate Neil Morrissey, as well as a tour around the islands of the Atlantic and new comedy-drama Mother’s Pride, which charts the fortunes of a failing pub and its customers.
Pompeii: The New Dig – House of Treasures (Monday 20/01/2025, BBC Two, 9pm)
Words by Richard Jones
Almost 2,000 years after it was buried under millions of tons of volcanic ash, Pompeii is still a source of incredible fascination for people around the world.
In the centuries that have passed since the snapshot of Roman life was discovered in the late 16th century, you’d think archaeologists would have found everything they could possibly discover – but in fact, only about two-thirds of the former Roman resort near Naples has been fully excavated.
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Hide AdThe first three-part series of the BBC’s Pompeii: The New Dig followed the most extensive archaeological excavation there for a generation.
Over the course of a year, an all-Italian team of archaeologists excavated an entire city block, Insula 10, in the north of the city, aiming to unearth the buildings, their purpose, who lived there and what happened to the structures and the people during the eruption in AD 79.
The subsequent investigations revealed the remains of a thriving commercial bakery, a wealthy residence and a laundry.
Now, this special new one-hour episode reveals the latest findings as the groundbreaking project reaches its climax.
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Hide AdTold through the drama of the dig and stylised fresco-inspired animations, House of Treasures continues to paint a vivid picture of what life was like in Pompeii.
The focus of the excavation moves from a cluster of commercial buildings, which include the bakery and laundry, to an adjacent luxurious residence, possibly owned by Pompeiian bigwig and local politician Aulus Rustius Verus.
Set away from the noisy streets, this peaceful and opulent dwelling is one of the most glamorous in Pompeii and extraordinary new finds build a picture of the upper-class life which was in stark contrast to that of the enslaved workers next door.
The first finds from this wealthy residence have already made headlines – including some astonishing frescoes in the banqueting room known as the ‘Black Room’.
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Hide AdNow the archaeologists reveal the full extent of its elaborate mosaic floor, imagining the lavish banquets the owners would have hosted, illustrated with rare examples of fine tableware preserved in the site’s store rooms.
In a nearby small room, the team then make another extraordinary discovery: the body of a woman, crouched on the floor, clutching a pouch containing pearl earrings and gold coins, worth thousands of pounds in today’s money.
To learn more about the room, the team uses plaster casts of the cavities in the ash to reproduce the shapes of the furniture that filled the room, including a chest, a bed and a small table.
On top of the table (a marble slab) are objects from everyday life – bottles, pots and plates.
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Hide AdAs the archaeologists continue to expose the extent of Aulus’ affluent residence, in the small room where the woman with the pearl earrings was found, another dramatic discovery is then made – a second victim, this time a man, who died under a collapsing wall.
So who were these people and why did they stay behind when so many fled?
As the team piece together their identities and continue to build a picture of one of the wealthiest houses in town, they also feed our continued fascination of this world-famous Roman city, which was frozen in time.
Winterwatch (Tuesday 21/01/25, BBC Two, 8pm)
Words by Sarah Morgan
“The theme of Winterwatch is resilience and renewal. In the winter wildlife needs to be resilient to get through the colder, leaner months. Only the tough survive. Then spring brings warmth, respite and renewal.”
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Hide AdWise words indeed from Michaela Strachan, who is back on the BBC to co-present the latest Winterwatch series alongside her old mates Chris Packham and Iolo Williams.
Her advice on wildlife-spotting is simple and to the point too: “The best tip I can give is to spend time outdoors! I know that sounds obvious, but winter is a time where people tend to hibernate. But if you get the right gear on, wrap up warm and make the effort to go out into the natural world, you will be rewarded.
“Do a bit of research, find out where to go to see some fab wildlife, especially all the great winter spectacles. Starling murmurations are such a treat to see, a spectacular aerial ballet. Winter flocks of noisy pink footed geese are always a memorable sight.
“Personally I love just walking in a wood on a crisp winter day, searching for fungi and appreciating the beauty, the colours and the structure.”
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Hide AdHowever, those who don’t feel like traipsing through the wilderness needn’t worry – sometimes you don’t have to go to nature, because it comes to you.
“Sitting with a cuppa watching the birds that come to a garden bird feeder,” is how Strachan describes her favourite way of getting up close to the natural world. “It’s such a simple, accessible, wildlife pleasure. In winter the most important thing to do for wildlife is to provide food and water. Any supplementing you can do is going to be vital.
“Further afield, a visit to one of the grey seal colonies is well worth the effort. It’s a sensation for many of your senses! It’s noisy, smelly and visual. The newborn pups are incredibly cute and the interactions between all the individuals can be mesmerising.”
As for the programme itself, Strachan is looking forward to returning to RSPB Arne in Dorset, where last year’s Springwatch also took place.
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Hide Ad“It’s always interesting to see the changes in different seasons. It’s difficult to know exactly what we will see and the weather is a big factor. Obviously, it’s a tough time of the year for wildlife – it’s either desperately trying to find enough food to survive or it has completely slowed down to conserve as much energy as possible.
“My favourite part of any Watches are the live cameras. Every season they bring something to surprise us, something we weren’t expecting, something unscripted and I always love that. We’re hoping to see the resident white-tailed eagles as they hunt for winter food, the resident foxes who will be active at this time of year and all the birds of prey that call Arne their home.”
So, no need to wrap up home – just grab the beverage of your choice and watch the wonders of the season unfold.
Simon Schama’s Story of Us (Wednesday 22/01/2025, BBC Two, 9pm)
Words by Richard Jones
How has post-war culture shaped who we are?
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Hide AdThat’s been the major question behind Simon Schama’s new series over the past fortnight, as he has taken viewers on a tour of loosely connected artistic happenings that, in his view, have not only established Britain as a land of contrasts but also bound us together.
Story of Us began in 1945 – the year in which a new, modern nation emerged from the devastation of the Second World War, and when Schama himself was born.
During his lifetime, Britain has been moulded by social and sexual revolutions, secularisation and globalisation, a collapsing empire and boom in migration.
But more than this flux and upheaval, what Schama, in his role as a cultural historian, is interested in are the ideas that have endured and the divisions, disillusionments and doubts.
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Hide AdIn the first episode, he looked at the post-war years optimism, meeting Cliff Richard, Jarvis Cocker, Ali Smith and Frank Cottrell-Boyce.
He then examined how mass immigration changed the face of the country, considering the work of James Bond creator Ian Fleming and two-tone band The Specials.
In tonight’s final episode, Our Contested Land, he explains that it is no accident that when people talk about where they are from, they use a word drawn from nature: roots.
But while our love of the countryside is thought to be the one thing that unites us all, the landscape is in fact a theatre of enormous conflict.
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Hide AdSchama looks at the work of writer Philip Larkin, in particular his extraordinary poem Going, Going, and the rapid transformation of Britain’s landscapes and our struggle to keep up with the rising population in overcrowded towns and cities.
Moving onto the early 1970s, Britain and the world slowly became more concerned with the environment, and in the years that followed, period dramas harked back to the days of the ‘green and pleasant land’.
But artists such as Joanna Coates have depicted the countryside not as a rural theme park but an anti-idyll being eroded by those purchasing second homes.
Simon also visits the Scottish Highlands, a land of enchantment that has seduced wealthy adventurers and artists alike.
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Hide AdBut behind the stunning landscapes there is a dark side of grief and tragedy.
Using agitprop play The Cheviot, The Stag and the Black Black Oil as an example, Simon tells the story of visionary artists who made us stop and think about our relationship with the land we live on.
From there, Simon heads to Northern Ireland and considers the work of Seamus Heaney.
He speaks to U2 frontman Bono, who explains how Heaney’s poetry as well as his band’s music were linked to the peace process and Good Friday Agreement.
“Culture is always upstream of politics,” Bono says.
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Hide AdDerek Jarman was the centre of the 1980s queer culture in London and his provocative 1986 film Caravaggio was an exercise in kicking down boundaries.
Simon visits Jarman’s extraordinary garden in Dungeness, created as he was dying from Aids, and explains how it touches on our universal need to connect with nature.
Schama concludes the series by asking us to think about what kind of world we want to live in and the role of culture it in.
“People need to think of art and culture not as an add-on, but as a difference between cultural life and death,” he says.
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Hide Ad“It’s there that we’ll get the best shot of the endurance of humanity. At least I hope so.”
Dragons’ Den (Thursday 23/01/25, BBC1, 8pm)
Words by Rachael Popow
Earlier this month, the show in which would-be entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to a panel of self-made millionaires in the hope of finding an investor returned for a staggering 22nd series. But just why has Dragons’ Den become such a TV staple?
“Dragon” Deborah Meaden believes the format is the key. She says: “Dragons’ Den is one of those rare shows that all generations can share.
“And of course, everyone has an idea in them and discovering how other Entrepreneurs have made their journey and learning from five highly experienced and successful Dragons can be hugely motivating and inspiring.”
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Hide AdWhile the basic concept of the show remains the same, Deborah does think the series also moves with the times, not least when it comes to the ideas being pitched.
She says: “Dragons is a real reflection of the changes in society…we see lots of interest in mental and physical health and wellbeing, empowerment and of course, the ever-practical solutions which make everyone go ‘why didn’t I think of that!’”
Her fellow Dragon Steven Bartlett agrees, saying: “There’s a noticeable shift towards tech innovation this season – the word AI was mentioned multiple times this season during pitches. It’s exciting to see how quickly entrepreneurs have grabbed hold of this technology and started building businesses around it.”
That’s not the only reason he thinks we should still be excited about Dragons’ Den, saying: “Viewers can look forward to some of the most entertaining and heartwarming pitches we’ve ever seen. From entrepreneurs tackling global challenges to those bringing a fresh twist to everyday products, there’s a lot of inspiration coming your way.
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Hide Ad“Plus, you’ll get to see the Dragons engaging in some friendly banter and perhaps a few fiery disagreements!”
There are also guest panellists – the first episode featured fitness guru Joe Wicks, with beauty mogul Trinny Woodall and designer Emma Grede also cropping up during the run.
Tonight though, the focus is on regulars Deborah, Steven, Peter Jones, Touker Suleyman and Sara Davies.
They’ll be hearing from a Ukrainian entrepreneur who is pitching her fashion business, as well as two London-based café owners who think the bubble hasn’t burst on bubble tea.
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Hide AdPresenter Evan Davis also introduces a dog swimming club owner who hopes the Dragons don’t think he’s barking mad, while a Harrogate-based designer will be making a splash as he pitches his all-in-one bathroom invention.
Steven has said his favourite part of being a Dragon is when he can give someone’s idea a boost. “I love meeting passionate entrepreneurs who pour their heart and soul into their ideas. Being able to mentor them, share in their journey, and sometimes even become a part of their story is incredibly rewarding. It’s a privilege to help play a small role in turning someone’s dream into reality.”
So, will he or his fellow Dragons be moved to invest tonight, or will they decide that some ideas need to go back to the drawing board?
Amanda & Alan’s Spanish Job (Friday 24/01/25, BBC1, 8.30pm)
Words by Rachael Popow
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Hide AdAt this stage in their celebrity careers, Amanda Holden and Alan Carr don’t really have to worry about needing a ‘day job’ to fall back on.
She’s got her own radio show and her role as a judge on Britain’s Got Talent, while he’s a much-loved comedian whose early life has also been turned into a hit sitcom, Changing Ends.
However, if they did decide they wanted a change of career, over the past couple of years they’ve proved they could have a bright future in property development. In 2023, they teamed up for the first series of Amanda & Alan’s Italian Job, which saw them purchasing two dilapidated apartments in picture-perfect Salemi and giving them a new lease of life.
It was such a success, they did it again last year, bagging another ‘One Euro’ house in the hills of Tuscany.
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Hide AdNow though, the pair are switching countries – and taking on their biggest project to date. Luckily, they are up for the challenge.
Alan says: “It’s always exciting when a show you love gets recommissioned but the fact that we will be bringing our unique DIY expertise to a whole different country makes it even more special. We are saying ciao for now and Hola España! Can’t wait to grab our power tools and get our hard hats on and bring some much-needed TLC to a casa in Spain!”
Amanda adds: “It’s wonderful how often I’m stopped in the street and told how much people love our show. Alan and I have the best time filming it and to have reached series three already is beyond the dreams of our lockdown pitch to the BBC!
“By day we love getting our hands dirty knocking down walls and lugging around power tools knowing we’ll be sipping on an ice-cold reward by night, forgetting the cameras are rolling! Bring on the Spanish sun, we can’t wait to get started and continue to help Comic Relief and Children In Need along the way.”
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Hide AdLet’s hope they can hold onto that enthusiasm as they head to Andalusia, where Amanda has found a rundown three-storey townhouse.
She dreams of turning it into a boutique B&B, which would have the added benefit of bringing some much-needed tourism to a village that’s currently in danger of being neglected.
Alan agrees to help out, and the duo search for inspiration by visiting Granada’s architectural marvel and the pinnacle of Moorish design, the Alhambra Palace.
That suggests they aren’t lacking in ambition, but as the realities of tackling over 2,000 square feet, a roof in desperate need of repair and a crumbling outbuilding start to sink in, Amanda and Alan begin to wonder if this time, they may have bitten off more than they can chew.
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Hide AdLuckily, as well as immersing themselves in the local history and architecture, the pair are also embracing a Mediterranean lifestyle of sun and sangria, which will help to keep their spirits up. We’re even promised they may find time for a spot of karaoke…