TV & Showbiz

Mancs wanted to take part in next series of BBC’s popular Gladiators reboot

Applications are now live.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 10th March 2026

The BBC is back casting for the next series of Gladiators, and producers are looking for Mancs to take part.

The gladiators are ready for a new series… but are the contenders?

That’s right – arguably the most exciting and energetic sports entertainment game show of all time is coming back for another series following its long-awaited reboot back in 2025, and that means that the BBC is looking for some brave new contestants to take part.

Greater Manchester residents are among those producers are calling on to consider sticking an application in.

Unfamiliar with the premise of Gladiators? The massively-popular series – which is based on an American show of the same name – sees four contestants compete in a number of physical challenges against the ‘Gladiators’, all with the aim of securing as many points as possible for the final event, which is known as ‘The Eliminator’.

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Mancs are wanted to take part in next series of BBC’s popular Gladiators reboot

Contestants battle against each other to win a place in the grand final, and ultimately be crowned the champion for the series.

Putting out a UK-wide casting call on the BBC website this week, producers Hungry Bear Media wrote: “Gladiators, one of the most exciting and energetic sports entertainment game shows ever is back for a fourth series.

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“We are on the look out for the bravest members of the British public who have the speed and skill to take on our superhuman Gladiators.”

Reckon that’s you then?

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With filming set to start soon, applications are now open for the new series of Gladiators, and all you need to do to be in with a chance of being selected as a contestant is being over 18 years old, and fill out an application form.

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You can apply on the BBC website here, before applications close on 31 May 2026.

Featured Image – BBC

TV & Showbiz

A new stage adaptation of a Virginia Woolf classic is coming to Manchester

Danny Jones Danny Jones New stage play version of Mrs Dalloway in Manchester tickets

With both World Book Day and International Women’s Day having only just passed, it feels like perfect timing for a UK tour of a new theatrical adaptation of one of the most important works of feminist writing ever to have just been announced: Mrs. Dalloway.

And, of course, it’s being brought to Manchester.

The legendary modernist novel by Virginia Woolf has already been adapted for stage and screen multiple times, but this most recent version has been hailed as “cinematic”, “immersive”, and striving to be just as ‘radical’ as the original masterpiece itself.

It’s one of the latest shows coming to Storyhouse in Chester for a world premiere, before heading out across the UK for just a select few special performances.

A co-production between said Storyhouse, as well as Harlow Playhouse and CutToTheChase Productions, it’s been co-created by award-winning director Jen Heyes, with help from Olivier Award-winning writer and performer, Kit Green.

Green takes up the role not only of the titular and long-studied character for this bold reimagining of Clarissa, but will also feature as husband Richard Dalloway, tragic supporting character Septimus Warren Smith, and others.

Bookworms and English literature students will likely have come across the name at least in passing, even if they haven’t read it for themselves, and it still remains just as striking now as it was when first published back in 1925.

Elsewhere referred to as The Hours in her diary entries, the text inspired a 2002 Hollywood movie using that ‘original’ working title starring Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore, and Meryl Streep – all of whom play women whose story mirrors that tale and/or troubles of Virginia Woolf in some way.

Most famously, however, it was also turned into an eponymous British film in the late 90s, with Vanessa Redgrave as an older Mrs Dalloway and Natascha McElhone as her younger self.

virginia woolf stage adaptations
Virginia Woolf
mrs dalloway movie
The first major version of Mrs Dalloway on film (1997)
Green embodying one of many roles
Credit: Topfoto/NTB (via NDLA)

Both have little cult followings of their own, as you would expect from anything with the famous writer’s name attached to them, but theatre fans have every reason to be very excited about this next take.

Speaking ahead of the inaugural performance of the play, director Jen Heyes said in a statement, “I wanted audiences to step inside Woolf’s world and see it in a way they won’t expect.

“We’ve mixed theatre, film, and bold reinterpretations to create something alive, surprising, moving, and entertaining. My hope is that people leave the theatre carrying the story with them long after the lights go down.”

Following the Cheshire debut on Friday, 29 May, running until 6 June, the production will head to Harlow in Essex, and Wilton’s Music Hall in London, before landing at beloved local theatre, cinema and arts space, HOME, over on First Street this autumn.

The stage version of Mrs. Dalloway will be in Manchester from 24-26 September (Thurs-Sat); you can grab your tickets HERE. We’ve been spoiled by some VERY good new material of late…

Operation Mincemeat at The Lowry, Manchester – Monty Python meets Six in a masterclass of multi-rolling

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Featured Images — Monika Koeck (supplied via )/NDLA Archive

TV & Showbiz

Alison Moyet has announced a huge European tour, including multiple Northern dates in the UK

Danny Jones Danny Jones Alison Moyet Manchester gig tickets O2 Apollo

Seasoned British singer-songwriter and pop legend Alison Moyet is coming back to Manchester and more after announcing an extensive run of 2026 EU, UK and IE tour dates.

No rest for the wickedly talented and long adored.

Alison Moyet last visited Manchester in February last year, playing the stunning Bridgewater Hall in support of her latest album, Key, the 10th studio LP of her solo career.

However, now the 64-year-old artist and music veteran is set to play songs from her eighth record, the minutes, as well as tracks from her days with Yazoo and more across Europe.

Moyet (real name Geneviève Alison Jane Ballard) formed Yazoo with ex-Depeche Mode member Vince Clarke in 1981, releasing two albums and becoming one of the most influential British groups of the time.

While clashes on multiple fronts saw the synth-pop duo ultimately break up in ’83, a handful of Yazoo hits like ‘Only You’, ‘Don’t Go’ and ‘Situation’ have continued to crop up in the Basildon-born artists over the years.

Once nicknamed ‘Alf’ as a youth – the same title she gave to her seminal debut album, released the year after the split – the young ‘tomboy’, turned teen punk, then synth, soul and pop act has experimented with everything from electronica to printmaking.

Put simply, she remains just as much of a creative force today as she was back then.

2025 saw her first full headline tour in eight years, playing shows not just here and over in Ireland, but across the mainland continent, Australia and New Zealand.

This current calendar will also see her touring with fellow 80s icons The Human League and Soft Cell on their ‘The Generations Tour’ in the summer – but by the autumn, she’ll be rolling back the years and working through her own back catalogue.

As you can see, as well as coming to Manchester’s O2 Apollo, other dates to see Alison Moyet live in the North this October include the Empire Theatre in Liverpool, Sheffield‘s City Hall, Buxton, Blackpool and several others.

Speaking on the upcoming tour, Alison said: “Many years touring the same pool of songs, and I am keen for a palate refresher.

“Specifying which years I will be fishing from, too, I think, is a grand way to serve potluck for specific tastes. No bones…” Ever the wordsmith.

The domestic pre-sale window here opens at 10am this coming Wednesday, 11 March, with general admission tickets going live at the same time the following Friday (13 Mar); you can get ready to grab yours right HERE.

Oh, and if you were wondering how her live performances sound these days, look no further than her recent Isle of Wight slot.

One of the greats.

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Featured Images — Publicity picture (supplied)/Hinnerk Rümenapf (via Wikimedia Commons)

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