As I hoped, and predicted, Series 3 went out with a solid punch:
3x11 'The Grand Final':
March 28th, 2026
4.18 Million Viewers. (+0.57 from 3x10)
Ranked as the No. 9 show of the week (+9 places from 3x10)
No. 6 show on BBC1 for the week, (+1 places from 3x10)
and No. 3 show in the Entertainment (genre) for the week. (+3 Places from 3x10)
All green up's this week. Bringing Gladiators above 4 Million for the first time since 3x07, and the highest total viewership since 3x04, before the timeslot chaos disrupted everything.
Plus, we also jumped back into the Top 10. Which is exactly where The BBC wants to be seeing the final. So the ratings are all good news, and a nice comfortable way to finish off the season on a high.
And it validates the BBC's confidence in the series, as a slim majority of Series 3 episodes ranked in the Top 10, with only 1 out of 11 falling out the Top 20, a very solid position to be in. (The BBC evidently agrees, given how quickly the series was renewed)
Which in turn also brings us to the ending of Series 3!
I'll do a comprehensive Series 3 overview later in the week. But it's good to see the series punch up for it's yearly finale.
Interestingly, Series 3 was the only Series of the BBC reboot not to have a single week off during it's run. And also interestingly, it's possible that may have hindered the series more than helped it. As some middle episode (one, in particular) suffered immensely from timeslot disruptions.
Considering this, I wouldn't be surprised if Series 4 does indeed have one or two weeks off during the season, as Series 1 & 2 did.
In 28-day figure news, 3x07 consolidated to 4.49 Million Viewers (up from 4.14), so Consolidation continues to benifit the series it would seem.
And this will also mark the end of my little weekly updates for now. I won't bother doing a weekly update for the 28-day figures. As there is significantly less to discuss. But I will make a post when all the numbers are released, just overlooking Series 3's final competive position going into the yearly hiatus.
But beyond that? It'll be mostly radio silence until this years Christmas Special.
Thank you, those of you who have joined me on this little weekly talk. I have really enjoyed the little tour, And I look forwards to doing it again next year.
I'll see you later in the week for the FULL Series 3 analysis and breakdown! Thank you for reading.