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Original poster

When you watch Gladiators…

67 replies

FaintingGoats · 14/02/2026 22:10

…anyone else always wanting the Gladiators to win, rather than the contenders??

I assumed everyone wanted the Gladiators to win. But I was surprised watching Gogglebox last night to see them all cheering on the contenders. Now I’m wondering if it’s just us (to be honest I find a lot of the contenders to be cocky and annoying…)

On a side note… how funny was it tonight 😂😂

OP posts:
Kickinthenostalgia · 14/02/2026 22:38

Tbh I prefer the gladiators over the contestants but I always choose a contestant to back on the eliminator. Usually not the cocky one 🤭 I’m pretty good at predicting who is gonna do each event.. I watch it for the gladiators. Come giant, Steele and legend are a great sight 🤭🤭

sorryIdidntmeanto · 14/02/2026 23:00

I have never thought about it like that. I thought it was contender vs contender, your want one of those to win. Gladiators are barriers to winning. They can't win, really.

Thisisnotmyid · 14/02/2026 23:05

I quite like watching the Gladiators take the cocky contestants down a leg or two. I’m immediately put off supporting them when they come on and make comments such as ‘putting the gladiators in their place’

Choice4567 · 14/02/2026 23:13

Surely the ‘putting them in their place’ comments are just part of being in the ‘show’ part. It would be pretty boring and odd if they came on and said ‘I’ve had a quick practice but I’m not great and the gladiators are easily gonna best me’

LoveBluey · 14/02/2026 23:17

We always pick a contestant we want to win for both women and men (red or blue) and cheer them on.

Tonights show was funny, almost like they ran out of good competitors and just let randoms have a go. They were all pretty rubbish compared to previous weeks.

FancyCatSlave · 14/02/2026 23:22

We pick a contender to cheer for but we also have our fav gladiators. DD is 6 and takes it very seriously.

We like the gladiators a lot but we don’t particularly think of them as “winning” - it’s red vs blue.

I love all the bravado, it’s what the producers look for when selecting people and we are particularly find of Legend in this house. DD also absolutely LOVES it when Viper has a tantrum.

blueysmum5 · 14/02/2026 23:51

The Gladiators aren’t the competition. The competitors are going against each other. The Gladiators are just part of the game, designed to make getting points more difficult. I’ve honestly never thought to cheer on the Gladiators although I do like it when they absolutely nail the cocky contenders.

I always find it a little unfair when one of them is paired with a really good Gladiator and the other gets Viper. It’s a clear advantage.

I pissed myself when Viper called Apollo ugly tonight, I know it’s all panto but it does make me laugh.

RightOnTheEdge · 14/02/2026 23:59

It's funny OP because I was thinking about this exact same thing when I was watching it tonight, like on Gauntlet and Duel I always find myself wanting the Gladiator to win, and I thought should I be cheering for the contenders?

I didn't feel bad tonight though because they contestants were far too cocky and I enjoyed watching them get battered 🤣

The Gladiators were very funny tonight. I really enjoyed it.

Fizbosshoes · 15/02/2026 00:03

I havent seen tonight's programme but I always want the contestants to win, against the gladiators!

Pryceosh1987 · 15/02/2026 00:13

I do not care who wins, i look out for the entertaining value of the show.

Original poster
FaintingGoats · 15/02/2026 00:15

I mean I’m not stupid, I understand it’s contender v contender and usually I will support one (the least dickish one) over another. But I never like to see a contender beat a gladiator 😂

OP posts:
narrowrailroad · 15/02/2026 13:45

We are always trying to work out how much of it is staged and how much isn't - the Gladiators often seem to make mistakes against weaker contestants to stop the scores getting out of hand.

Original poster
FaintingGoats · 15/02/2026 16:09

narrowrailroad · 15/02/2026 13:45

We are always trying to work out how much of it is staged and how much isn't - the Gladiators often seem to make mistakes against weaker contestants to stop the scores getting out of hand.

I like to pretend that none of it is staged 🤐

OP posts:
SparkyBlue · 15/02/2026 16:17

Last nights was a strange episode wasn’t it? The contestants were an odd bunch. We didn’t like any of them and they were physically just not up to it. I’ve never seen contestants picked off the wall so easily , and more than one contestant disqualified from the stick thing (can’t remember the name). The eliminator in both cases was mad.

caramac04 · 15/02/2026 16:28

Absolutely brilliant show tonight. Contestants weren’t great and red woman having her tongue hanging out I found annoying.
I LOVE the Gladiators and Legend cracks me up .
I do choose a contestant I’d like to win and cheer if they do well on the challenges.
One of my favourite shows of the week, cheers up a Saturday night.

Fizbosshoes · 15/02/2026 16:52

Im really short, I nearly always root for the shorter of the 2 contestants, because its nearly always a disadvantage!
(As shown in the eliminator!)

Original poster
FaintingGoats · 15/02/2026 20:56

SparkyBlue · 15/02/2026 16:17

Last nights was a strange episode wasn’t it? The contestants were an odd bunch. We didn’t like any of them and they were physically just not up to it. I’ve never seen contestants picked off the wall so easily , and more than one contestant disqualified from the stick thing (can’t remember the name). The eliminator in both cases was mad.

The bit Mo cracked Bionic in the face after Duel had finished was so bad tbh. I liked him till that point. I know he was apologetic but I don’t think it was an accident really, I think he was just angry

OP posts:
noblegiraffe · 15/02/2026 21:20

Crikey yesterday I was hoping for the Travelator to win. Wtf was that?

Usually I don't mind who wins so long as they are good competitors. On things like Duel you know the Gladiator is probably going to win so you just want the contender to give it a good go. Or if it's Everest and they get Cyclone, you're just like 'hang in there buddy'.

AgentPidge · 15/02/2026 22:11

noblegiraffe · 15/02/2026 21:20

Crikey yesterday I was hoping for the Travelator to win. Wtf was that?

Usually I don't mind who wins so long as they are good competitors. On things like Duel you know the Gladiator is probably going to win so you just want the contender to give it a good go. Or if it's Everest and they get Cyclone, you're just like 'hang in there buddy'.

I don't know why I remember it but I'm pretty sure the Travelator was the last round of The Generation Game where they had to remember the prizes - soda syphon! cuddly toy!

blueysmum5 · 15/02/2026 22:47

I wonder if they edit how many times a contender actually tries to do the travelator. Because they never seem to more than two or three attempts but I’m sure it must take more, probably with a break, before they actually manage to do it.

noblegiraffe · 15/02/2026 22:59

They turn the Travelator down! No one ever fails to finish even when they get more and more knackered. Ladders, slow Travelator, whatever it takes to get them through it.

Kickinthenostalgia · 15/02/2026 23:12

LoveBluey · 14/02/2026 23:17

We always pick a contestant we want to win for both women and men (red or blue) and cheer them on.

Tonights show was funny, almost like they ran out of good competitors and just let randoms have a go. They were all pretty rubbish compared to previous weeks.

Exactly what I said 🤣

RonaldMcDonaldTrump · 16/02/2026 00:28

Last night's was absolute chaos 😂 I'm sure it will be on next week's Gogglebox again!

All the contestants being dismal at Duel

3 of the contestants being pocket sized. They made Barney look like a gladiator

Bionic's face when he got a jab to the face after the whistle. I thought he was going to lamp him one.

Viper actually catching someone on the wall - shows how bad the contestants were because he doesn't win anything.

Sid stopping after hearing the 2nd whistle during the eliminator, and then losing his shoe. Why did they not get him to put it back on there and then, or pause the race given they were neck and neck at that point. Imagine climbing a cargo net in a sock!

The short female almost getting a neck injury twice from missing the monkey bars

Sid literally hitting the travelator head first because of the fact that he was running it wearing one shoe and a sock! How did he think it was going to go?!

noblegiraffe · 16/02/2026 00:32

WHY did they not get him his shoe back the minute he lost it?

They normally stop the game if a contender loses a shoe, so it was so weird they just let him attempt the Travelator in his sock.

StripedPillowcase · 16/02/2026 07:31

The shoe thing was very weird, you'd be more likely to sustain an injury doing that stuff in a sock, I'm really surprised they didn't pause it.