Viewers feel the power of the Gladiators

The final of Sky One's reborn Gladiators rounded off a strong run for the show with 587,000 viewers (3.77%) watching at 7pm.

The 60-minute final hit a high of 656,000 (4.08%) at 7.15pm and was up by 25% on the channel's slot average for the year of 471,000 (2.46%).

The show, which originally ran on ITV between 1992 and 2000, was resuscitated by Sky One this year and has been a big hit for the entertainment channel.

Over the 15-part run, the series has averaged 622,000 (4.17%) with most shows airing for an hour at 6pm.

The top show was the opening episode on 11 May, which attracted 1.5m (11.6%) at 6pm. The second outing the following week also broke the one million mark with 1.1m (7.7%). Viewer numbers then slowly declined, with the lowest rating episode on 13 July attracting just 297,000 (2.42%).

Viewers picked up during the final stages and the first semi-final on 10 August gained 670,000 (3.78%).

The show was also a sizeable attraction for both upmarket and younger viewers. ABC1 viewers made up 38% of the total number of viewers watching the show while viewers aged between 16 and 34 made up 42.3% of the audience.

The final of Gladiators won its multichannel slot but had some tough competition from More 4's perennially popular Come Dine with Me. The food and cookery show at 6.50pm picked up 500,000 (3.32%) for 35-minutes, with the show picking up an extra 75,000 on the timeshifted channel More 4+1. Jamie at Home though, at 7.25pm, had 217,000 (1.26%) with 42,000 watching an hour later.

ITV2's The Panet's Funniest Animals at 7.30pm had 252,000 (1.46%) while E4's Big Brother's Little Brother, between 6.25pm and 7.30pm gained 292,000 (2%).

BBC3's music show Reading and Leeds Festival gained 129,000 (0.79%) for an hour at 7pm.

Source: Broadcast