Gladiators fans ‘complain to Ofcom’ as thousands ‘refused’ entry for filming | TV & Radio | Showbiz & TV

Gladiators originally attracted 14 million viewers at the height of its popularity in the 90s, with the series being first rebooted in 2008.

The new series of the show will be fronted by the father-son duo Bradley and Barney Walsh with the new wave of Gladiators raring to go against a brave set of contestants

However, fans of the show in Sheffield where filming has begun were left disappointed after reportedly being turned away despite holding a ticket and queuing for hours.

A lot of the fans tagged TV watchdog Ofcom in their tweets as they shared their outrage on social media, as Holly Kimberley expressed: “@ApplauseStoreUK rubbish planning and organisation for Gladiators @SheffieldArena today.

“Queuing for 2 hours!! Why give out thousands of tickets extra knowing you can’t accommodate? Was so excited to go and see them and ended in disappointment!” (sic)

READ MORE: Alison Hammond breaks down in tears as she watches Phillip’s interview

@trufhunter fumed: “@BBCOne @GladiatorsTV @Ofcom This is the 7000 people plus who were refused entry for the gladiators filming after you sold tickets.

“Abysmal waste of people’s lives. Awful management and event planning.”

Steve Williams commented: “There were shambolic scenes today. 7000 people turned away from a 3000 crowd for BBC Gladiators.

“We got in and spent three hours with bored kids and only ONE GAME has happened.”

Jordan Burrows said: “So how many complaints will @ApplauseStoreUK get today for Sheffield Gladiators show for fuel and loss of earnings?

“12,000 e-tickets designated for only 3000 physical? No mention of this on the paperwork. Feel so sorry for the position you’ve put everyone in.” (sic)

However, not all attendees had a negative view of the day as Anthony Barratt praised: “Man what a day yesterday! I saw Gladiators yesterday and it was amazing.”

Seeing the commotion on social media meant that the Applause Store who sold the tickets were forced to give a statement.

They told Metro.co.uk: “We apologise for any disappointment caused yesterday morning. Due to an unprecedented demand for tickets for the recording of Gladiators at Utilita Arena Sheffield, we reached full capacity sooner than anticipated.

“Which meant we sadly couldn’t accommodate everyone that turned up for the recording of the show.

“As clearly stated on all our free tickets and on our website, entrance is on a first-come, first-served basis, subject to venue capacity and entrance is not guaranteed.

“All scanned tickets will receive priority tickets to a different show in the future.”

Express.co.uk has contacted BBC for a comment.

Gladiators returns to BBC soon.