{"id":609,"date":"2025-05-21T17:13:14","date_gmt":"2025-05-21T16:13:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jusmedia.co.uk\/studioinsider\/?p=609"},"modified":"2025-06-06T15:13:08","modified_gmt":"2025-06-06T14:13:08","slug":"behind-the-mastermind-of-saturday-night-telly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jusmedia.co.uk\/studioinsider\/2025\/05\/21\/behind-the-mastermind-of-saturday-night-telly\/","title":{"rendered":"Behind the mastermind of Saturday Night TV"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Backstage at Gladiators during the game Duel. (Credit- Seb Jones) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In an era of doom-scrolling on social media, traditional Saturday Night telly for all the family to enjoy is still well and truly alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of the biggest include The Wheel, Michael McIntyre\u2019s Big Show and Gladiators. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the one thing all three have in common?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They\u2019re all run by the same production company: Hungry Bear Media. We spoke to co-owner Dan Baldwin, the husband of TV personality Holly Willoughby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re called Hungry Bear because when I went to university I really wanted to get on the Media course and in my interview I said ‘I was hungry to learn, hungry to succeed and hungry to get better.’ When you want to work in TV, you have to be hungry to do all of those things\u201d, says Dan, who is Managing Director and started his TV career working on a teen show called Love Bites as a researcher, skipping the traditional starting job of a runner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bringing back Gladiators<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Most recently, the company produced the show, Gladiators. After years of varying success across a number of different channels, Gladiators was brought back to our screens by Hungry Bear Media in January 2024 and has had overwhelming success since its return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Inside the gallery truck at Gladiators. (Credit- Seb Jones) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cAs humans we\u2019re getting fitter and living longer. We knew something with fitness at it\u2019s heart like Gladiators was right for a return, or at least we felt it was!\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

“The idea was pitched and fortunately, the BBC loved the idea of bringing it back, so it was ironing out all the details (and there were a lot of them) to make it all happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOnce we got to that point it was about keeping Gladiators as nostalgic as possible and treading that fine line between the old Gladiators and bringing it up to date into this century.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The revamped series has seen advanced modern technology such as LED lighting, projections in the arena, plus a couple of brand new games, combined with staples from previous series\u2019 such as the original games, original theme tune, and the new Gladiators appearing in light blue and red lycra as before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reaction to the revamped series of Gladiators is something that was not expected for Dan, who actually worked on the junior Gladiators show when he was just starting out in the industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNone of us expected the reaction, it\u2019s been absolutely huge and everyone\u2019s loved it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople are having Gladiator parties on Saturday nights, they have fallen in love with the programme all over again. People seemed to have really embraced it, which is amazing to see, and I feel like we\u2019ve done a good job with it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A typical day on set<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Dan is the Executive Producer of all their shows, and a typical day recording Gladiators sees him arrive between mid-morning and leave when recording finishes around mid-evening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Between his arrival and his departure there is so much to do. Pre-meetings about the day’s record, many talks with the different teams on set, chats with the Gladiators themselves, meetings with the director, and meetings with the hosts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Filming each episode at the Utilita Arena in Sheffield usually takes between six and seven hours, taking into account recording each game and then the changeover between events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBy the end of it, you\u2019ve got yourself a brilliant episode, hopefully! That\u2019s the routine for most studio shows.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, it\u2019s not always smooth running for Dan and his team during recording.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When in the US filming the American version of the hit TV show \u2018The Wheel’ for NBC, the Wheel itself came to an abrupt stop and broke mid-recording.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was going round and round and then it just went \u2018dunk\u2019 and stopped. We had to stop for a couple of hours and fix it. When it happens to a 40ft wheel with celebrities sitting on it, it can be really difficult to fix,\u201d Dan says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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