Celebrity Gladiators returns with epic Christmas Day special and here's who won
All the celebs put up a real festive fight!Celebrity Gladiators exploded back onto our screens today with four famous faces putting up their best fight – but who won?
Vogue Williams, Nicola Adams, Joe Wicks and Sam Thompson faced off against the Gladiators for the festive special.
Gladiators hasn’t been on our screens for almost a year, so what better time for our favourite muscle men and women to return than on Christmas Day?!
Here’s everything that happened inside Sheffield Arena, including what the challenges were and who the Celebrity Gladiators 2025 winners are.
Celebrity Gladiators 2025: Joe Wicks and Sam Thompson
Joe – aka The Nation’s PE Teacher – and TV presenter Sam were first into the arena tonight.
Sam, who completed a gruelling 260-mile journey on foot to raise money for UNICEF’s Soccer Aid earlier this year, was quick to share his concerns.
He told host Bradley Walsh that his worst nightmare would be Dual, adding: “A gust of wind would blow me off.”
Sam gave himself the Gladiator name The Cockroach, explaining: “You can’t get rid of me!”
Joe, meanwhile, said to Bradley’s co-host and son Barney that his Gladiator name is Activate. He added: “I’m going to teach every single one of those Gladiators a lesson they won’t forget!”
Unfortunately for Sam, the first event WAS Dual – and he was up against Giant. Sam bowed his head when he realised who his opponent was. He put up a good fight but fell with one second to go.
Joe was up against Viper, who was as cheery as ever… Viper hit Joe before the whistle blew, knocking him off.
Referee Mark Clattenburg confirmed: “Viper went before the whistle, so I’m disqualifying him.” Joe was awarded a full five points, putting him in the lead.
Nicola Adams and Vogue Williams
Two-time Olympic boxing champion Nicola Adams entered the arena looking strong. She told Bradley she “fears no one”.
I’m a Celebrity star and podcaster Vogue Williams was also raring to go. She admitted she was worried about The Wall, but said she’s wanted to do the Eliminator since she was eight years old.
The women’s first event was also Dual. Nicola went up against Fury – and lasted about three seconds on the podium before falling off.
Vogue took on Sabre, but she was also knocked off within a few seconds. Both celebrities finished the round with no points. Oh dear!
Event two: Collision
Sam found himself up against Phantom, Steel, Bionic and Apollo in the second event, which was Collision. He had to run back and forth across the bridge, posting balls in the nets, as the Gladiators tried to swing across and knock him off.
The former Made In Chelsea star managed to run across twice, before he was knocked off on his third go.
Joe managed to stay on the bridge but dropped his ball several times. The lads finished Collision with Joe on 7 points and Sam on 4.
Nicola and Vogue had to dodge Sabre, Electro, Fire and Comet in Collision.
Nicola was quick across the bridge and managed to bob and weave her way around the Gladiators. She evaded them completely and scored an impressive 10 points.
Vogue also managed to stay on the bridge for the duration of the event. But her point scoring wasn’t as good. Vogue got 6 points.
Celebrity Gladiators: The Wall and Gauntlet
Nitro – aka Strictly Come Dancing’s Harry Aikines-Aryeetey – made his Gladiators comeback in the Christmas Celebrity special. He missed most of the last series of Gladiators due to injury, so it was great to see him in the arena again.
He and fellow Gladiator Hammer took on Sam and Joe on The Wall. Nitro was up that Wall like a rat up a drainpipe and he caught Joe before he had reached the top.
Sam, however, was delighted to make it all the way without Hammer pulling him off. He told Barney: “That was mad, I normally just fall off things!”
Sam scored 10 points, while Joe didn’t get any.
Meanwhile, Nicola was chased up The Wall by Dynamite, and Vogue was pursued by Cyclone. Both celebrities were caught within seconds and yanked off.
Barney said: “It’s the quickest take down from The Wall we have ever seen!”
Sam Thompson’s Gladiators fail
The celebs ran The Gauntlet for their fourth event of the competition.
The lads faced Phantom, Nitro, Steel, Bionic and Apollo in the tough challenge. Incredibly, Sam managed to push his way past all five of them, shouting: “You can’t get rid of The Cockroach, baby!”
But within seconds, Mark Clattenburg was there with bad news. “We’ve looked at the VAR and unfortunately your foot wasn’t over the line,” he told Sam. As a result, he only got 4 points rather than 5.
Joe ran through with little trouble and scored the full 5 points.
The ladies faced Dynamite, Electro, Fury, Comet and Cyclone in The Gauntlet. Nicola was knocked to her feet several times but made it through. Vogue also made it all the way.
Both Nicola and Vogue scored 5 points each.
Who won Celebrity Gladiators?
As always, Celebrity Gladiators ended with The Eliminator. The course saw the introduction of a “tougher balance beam”, making it even harder to complete.
Sam had finished all the events one point ahead, meaning he got a 0.5 second head start.
The guys were neck and neck for much of the final event, with Sam inching forwards. But he then fell off the balance beam and struggled with the travelator.
Joe stormed ahead and crashed through the end, making him the Celebrity Gladiators Male Champion. Before being handed his trophy, 2025 winner Joe said: “It’s much harder than watching it at home on TV!”
Nicola was given a two second head start on Vogue.
She stormed ahead, as Vogue lagged behind. Then, in never-seen-before scenes, Vogue was given a ladder after repeatedly failing to climb up the rope!
Incredibly, Vogue managed to catch Nicola up and they were soon neck-and-neck on the travelator. It was almost a photo-finish, with only 200th of a second in it…
But the Celebrity Gladiators Women’s Champion 2025 was Vogue! The Irish winner was handed her trophy and said: “I honestly cannot believe that!”
When is Gladiators back?
Great news; Celebrity Gladiators was just your starter. The brand new series of Gladiators is returning to BBC One and iPlayer in early 2026.
The BBC is yet to confirm the exact return date for the show but it is expected to start in mid to late January. And there are three brand new events to boot.
We cannot wait!
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