''Gladiaattorit'' is a Finnish

competition Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, indi ...

television program part of the international ''Gladiators'' franchise.

Original series

The show originally ran for three seasons from 1993 to 1994; it was directed by Hollywood director Renny Harlin, produced by Markus Selin, and filmed at Planet FunFun. It was hosted by Juha-Pekka Jalo alongside Katariina Ebeling in 1993 and

Minna Aaltonen Minna Kaisa Aaltonen (17 September 1966 – 11 September 2021) was a Finnish film actress, television actress and presenter. Biography Aaltonen was born in Turku, Finland. Her mother was Finnish actress Leena Takala. Aaltonen studied acting ...

in 1994. It was rerun on the original

MTV3 MTV3 (, ) is a Finnish commercial television channel owned and operated by the media company MTV Oy, originally launched on 13 August 1957 as a programming block, becoming its own channel on 1 January 1993. It had the biggest audience share ...

channel in 2002.

Participants

Persons becoming famous from the show included Tony Halme (''Viikinki''—Gladiator Viking) who would become a member of the parliament and Virpi Butt (''Timantti''—Gladiator Diamond) who committed a murder in 2003. Competitors Pirjo Litilia, Riikka Hartikainen, Jarmo Jousisto, and Tommi Vuoristo would later compete on International Gladiators 1. Gladiators Flash (''Salama''—Marjo Krishi) and Terminator (''Terminaattori'' — Mikko Tukonen) would also appear on IG1.

Revivals

On 6 April 2017, it was announced that the show, owned by MGM Television, will return to the airwaves in Finland for a revival on Nelonen. The new series will be hosted by Heikki Paasonen and recorded at

Tampere Exhibition and Sports Centre Tampere Exhibition and Sports Centre () is an indoor venue in Tampere, Finland. It hosted 2008 European Wrestling Championships, European Wrestling Championships in 2008. The centre has 4 halls and the first one was built in 1985. See also *Lis ...

. It was announced that in 2019 a new series of ''Gladiaattorit'' would return to its original television channel

. The relaunched series was hosted by Viivi Pumpanen and

Antero Mertaranta Lauri Antero Johannes Mertaranta (born 17 January 1956 in Hyvinkää, Finland) is a prominent Finland, Finnish sportscaster and television personality, TV personality and former elementary school teacher. Antero Mertaranta is best known for his e ...

. Filming of the series began on 11 February 2019 and is produced by MTV Warner Bros. International Television Production Finland. There were seven new Gladiators joining the team, with six staying from the previous series in 2017. Legendary original Gladiator Mohikaani ( Mika Ounaskari) joined the show as the Gladiators coach and event expert.

Events

Gladiators

References

External links

*
GladiatorsTV.com - Finland
1993 Finnish television series debuts 1994 Finnish television series endings Gladiators (franchise) Finnish game shows MTV3 original programming Nelonen original programming Finnish non-fiction television series Television shows filmed in Finland {{Finland-tv-prog-stub