Celebrity Gladiators Odds: Who Will Win The BBC Series?

Gladiators returned to our televisions in 2024 to huge success and now four celebrities will give the show a go in a Celebrity Gladiators special.

On New Year's Day, comedian Rob Beckett will take on TV presenter and comedian Joel Dommett while TV host Louise Minchin will go up against comedian and Ted Lasso star Ellie Taylor. 

They will take on the Gladiators before going head-to-head in their respective male and female disciplines in the dreaded Eliminator. 

According to betting sites, all four are in with a chance of triumphing on the star-studded BBC One show, which will be co-hosted by father and son TV presenting duo Bradley and Barney Walsh. 

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Joel Looks To Be The Frontrunner 

Joel will head into his battle with Rob as the 4/6 favourite on UK betting sites.

However, instead of trash talking his rival, The Masked Singer presenter has played down his own chances of victory, admitting the show has made him realise he is "not really that strong". 

He said: "I’ve realised since being here that my level of fitness doesn’t really apply to anything that’s in Gladiators. 

"I’m not really that strong, I’m not very good at heights and I’m not very good at fighting, so it's basically everything I’m bad at.

"I'm a bit asthmatic, so I think my Gladiator name would be ‘The Inhaler’ because I feel like I need one."

Joel has also talked up Rob as "unbelievable", due to his "power". 

But the star admitted he stands a good chance against Rob when it comes down to speed, which could be ideal for the final Eliminator. 

He said: "You might look at Rob and think, ‘he's not going to be good at this thing’ but he’s unbelievable. He's got strength in his legs, it's like he’s got 10cm long legs and 10cm teeth! 

"His leg strength gives him a good base and he can be just so explosive in the events whereas I’m like a ballerina, exactly the wrong build for power events. 

"But if there was an event to see who could run 20km the quickest then I could be in with a chance."

Rob The Outsider

While Joel has talked up Rob's strength ahead of the Celebrity Gladiators special, the 8 Out of 10 Cats star doesn't fancy his own chances. 

He said: "I can't see myself beating Joel, can you? The odds? 

"He’s so fast and he’s so good at stuff, but I'm giving it a good bash. I'll try and catch him up on The Eliminator."

As Rob requested, he is a 6/4 shot to defeat Joel, but the star admitted he was "freaked out" when he first set eyes on the show's iconic arena. 

Asked how he felt when he saw the outfit and the venue for the first time, he said: "Well in the arena everything's too big, everything's too high, everything's much scarier than on the telly. There's bits like the trapeze, it's freaking me out. 

"On the telly it looks like the easiest bit."

Rob also tasted defeat of sorts in the clothing department, admitting he felt "degraded" before he'd even stepped foot into the arena - because he had to have a pair of shorts specially made to fit him. 

He added: "The most degrading part was they didn't have any shorts that fit so they’ve had to have some especially made for me.

Louise And Ellie Do Battle 

There looks set to be a closer match up when Louise takes on Ellie in the female championship. 

At 56, former BBC Breakfast host Louise is the oldest of the four celebrity contenders and she insisted it is, "totally ridiculous that I should be doing Gladiators at my age". 

However, Louise can prove that age is simply a number in the upcoming episode. 

Celebrity Gladiators Odds: Female Championship Outright 

She said: "The reason I wanted to take part in Gladiators is that I really want people who are my age to think they can do fun, crazy and tough things. 

"I'd love for people to see me in the show and think, gosh, you know what if Louise can do that at her age, I can also give something like that a go."

Louise heads into the one-off special as the 8/11 favourite on betting apps to defeat 11/8 chance Ellie, who praised her competitor as "terrifyingly brave". 

She said: "Louise is such great company and terrifyingly brave, she’ll jump off anything, that woman! I’ve really enjoyed hanging out with her and comparing numbers of blows to the head."

Ellie has also hinted she may not have fared too well at some events, joking that one of her new year's resolutions is "not sign up to any more shows where professional athletes try to chuck you off high things".

* Reminder: These are hypothetical odds provided by industry experts.