UK’s toughest entertainment show Ninja Warrior UK returns to ITV

UK’s toughest entertainment show Ninja Warrior UK returns to ITV

Ben Shephard, Rochelle Humes and Chris Kamara back to host newly formatted series produced by Potato

Ninja Warrior UK, the toughest series on TV, is about to get tougher as a revamped, high octane new season returns to ITV and ITV Hub.

Potato, the award-winning ITV Studios label behind The Chase, Beat The Chasers and Moneyball, has confirmed that the hit TV entertainment series Ninja Warrior UK will be back, but this time it’s bigger, faster, harder, and complete with an all-new competition structure. 

In a twist on the format, and for the first time in the show’s history, the hunt is on for two champions, as the UK’s top female and male competitors take on the most challenging course ever to be crowned Ninja Warrior UK Male and Female Champions.  

The contestants will not only face each other but they will also have to face the 'Ninjas' - a team of professional Ninja Warrior athletes - in head-to-head races.

Ben Shephard, Rochelle Humes and Chris Kamara will preside over the action as contestants take on new courses, new obstacles and even bigger challenges designed as the ultimate test of strength, speed, and courage.    

During this new 8 x 1 hour series, viewers will witness and cheer on the most determined and driven batch of competitors so far, as they put everything on the line to face triumph or failure in front of family, friends, and the nation.

Michael Kelpie, MD of Potato and Executive Producer, said: ‘There is no other show like Ninja Warrior UK; it’s bigger, tougher, more exciting than anything else on TV and proper Saturday night entertainment for the entire family. We’re thrilled to be back with Ben, Kammy and Rochelle, filming in front of a full audience and with loads of exciting new surprises for this year’s competitors – and, most importantly, for the viewers.”

Katie Rawcliffe, Head of Entertainment Commissioning at ITV, said: “This all new, enhanced and reinvigorated series of Ninja Warrior UK contains all the electricity, excitement and entertainment needed to make it compulsive Saturday night viewing. Let the challenges commence!”

Ben Shephard said: "Ninja Warrior is a global phenomenon and one of the most fun and physically demanding shows on TV. The new format on ITV will see our daredevil contestants racing over challenging obstacles like you've never seen before. The Lycra and Ninja headbands are back - and that's just for me and Kammy! Seriously, I can't wait to be back alongside Kammy and Rochelle - it's going to be epic."

Rochelle Humes said: “This new series of Ninja Warrior UK is going to be incredible. We have such a wonderful passionate fan base, and we just can’t wait to show them what we have in store – I think they’ll be surprised and thrilled in equal measure as they discover the new challenges.  And with Ben and Kammy by my side, I know it’s going to be great fun!”  

Chris Kamara said: “I’m so excited about the return of Ninja Warrior UK, it’s always a blast getting to see these incredibly fit humans coming onto the course thinking it’ll be a breeze, but little do they know it never is! Especially in this new series, with an even more difficult course and a brand-new format. I can’t wait to re-join my old pals Ben and Rochelle and see who will be crowned Ninja Warrior UK Male and Female Champions.”

Ninja Warrior UK is based on Sasuke, a TBS format and will be produced by Potato, part of ITV Studios. The series will be executive produced by Potato’s Michael Kelpie, Martin Scott, and Helen Tumbridge, and is set to go into production in May.  The series is commissioned for ITV and ITV Hub by Kevin O’Brien, Commissioning Editor and Katie Rawcliffe, Head of Entertainment Commissioning. 

Ninja Warrior UK has enjoyed enormous success both on and off the screen, with the show successfully extending into physical leisure destinations with over one million people having visited one of the Ninja Warrior Adventure Parks in the last 12 months, and 13 venues now open across the UK including most recent openings in Milton Keynes and Chatham.

Potato is one of the UK’s most successful entertainment format producers, producing a range of high quality, entertaining and returning formats across multiple genres. Alongside Ninja Warrior UK, Potato’s diverse slate includes the ratings-busting juggernaut The Chase and its thrilling hit prime-time spin-off Beat the Chasers, both hosted by Bradley Walsh. Their success in the gameshow field continues with Moneyball fronted by football legend Ian Wright, Sitting on a Fortune hosted by Gary Lineker (which are also co-produced by Possessed), and Iain Stirling's Celebability. Their slate of entertainment and reality includes Billie and Greg: The Family Diaries, Sam and Billie: The Mummy Diaries and Ferne McCann: First Time Mum for ITVBe, while their documentary focus includes Autopsy USA: The Last Hours Of…and Breaking the Band for Reelz. Potato is part of ITV Studios. 

If you wish to apply for the new series of Ninja Warrior UK, please visit www.ninjawarrioruk.co.uk/apply for details.

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About Potato: 
Since being established in 2013 by producer Michael Kelpie, Potato has had phenomenal growth with an impressive slate of successful TV series.  The UK based production company has produced a range of high quality, entertaining, talked-about and returning formats across multiple genres and broadcasters, including the award-winning ratings-busting juggernaut The Chase and its thrilling hit prime-time spin-off Beat the Chasers, Ninja Warrior UK, Iain Stirling’s Celebability, Sam and Billie; The Mummy Diaries, Paddington Station 24/7, My Favourite Sketch and Autopsy USA: The Last Hours Of…for broadcasters including ITV, Channel 5, ITV2, UKTV, Reelz and Sky.  Potato is part of ITV Studios. 

About Ninja Warrior UK leisure venues

Inspired by the hit ITV show, ITV and its partners have created different types of Ninja Warrior UK supervised activity and fitness venues across the UK, all geared to wide age and ability ranges. The venues are fun, safe, and inclusive, enabling all participants to create their own Ninja Warrior UK journeys.

The growing network of Ninja Warrior UK leisure venues now comprises 13 indoor Ninja Warrior UK Adventure Parks and the seasonal Ninja Warrior UK Aqua Park at Liquid Leisure (Windsor): between them these 14 venues have had over 1m visitors in the last year.

Find out more at ninjawarrior.uk