Gladiators, the popular 1990s show, will return to television screens next month.

At its peak, Gladiators – which was broadcast from 1992 to 2000 – drew audiences of 14 million to its Saturday evening ITV slot. The programme pitches members of the public against “gladiators” in physical games and tasks. Characters such as Trojan, Jet and Hunter became household names and the format, which originated in the US, was exported to Australia, South Africa, Russia, Finland, Germany, Nigeria, Denmark and Sweden.

Among the 12 new gladiators are an American footballer, a Royal Marines commando, an Olympic medal-winning runner and a former Great Britain discus thrower. Ian Wright and Kirsty Gallacher will present the new show, which was originally presented by John Fashanu and Ulrika Jonsson, but John Anderson, the original referee, will return. Producers have selected 32 contenders from 20,000 who auditioned to challenge the gladiators in events such as Powerball and The Eliminator for a £50,000 prize. Richard Woolfe, director of programming at Sky One, said: “The games are bigger, the contenders are stronger and the gladiators even more unbelievable.”

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