Ninja Warrior UK

Did You Know?

• The first competitor to complete the entire course was Tim Champion, beating Mt Midoriyama in the fifth series with just 1 second to spare.
• A celebrity special aired on 18 December 2015 as part of the Text Santa telethon, won by Louise Hazel.
• In series 5, one-legged trainer Tyler Saunders was among the competitors.
• The sixth series was filmed at Manchester Central in August 2022.

Format

The competition originally had three stages: heats, semi-finals, and final. The course used obstacles primarily from American Ninja Warrior. In the heats, competitors attempted a six-obstacle course starting with the Quintuple Steps (series 1–3) or Floating Steps (series 4–5) and ending with the Warped Wall. In series 1–3, 50 competitors per heat competed across five heats, with the top 10 advancing. In series 4–5, there were four heats, with the top 15 advancing in series 4 and only those who beat the wall advancing in series 5. Semi-finals split remaining competitors into two groups for a nine-obstacle course; the first six obstacles had a time limit, after which competitors could proceed freely. The top 15 across both semi-finals advanced to the final (top 30 in series 4, reduced to 20 in series 5). The final had four stages. Stage 1 was a nine-obstacle timed course; from series 4 it was called the Eliminator and aired separately. Stage 2 had five obstacles with a time limit. Stage 3 was untimed with three obstacles, including the Crazy Cliffhanger, Spider Flip, and Flying Bar. The final stage was a 22-meter rope climb on Mount Midoriyama, to be completed in under 45 seconds. A competitor completing it was declared Ninja Warrior UK; otherwise, the one who went furthest fastest was Last Ninja Standing.

Series overview

The first series aired from 11 April to 30 May 2015, with 250 competitors across five heats. Fourteen reached the final; six completed Stage 1 but none finished Stage 2, so Timothy Shieff was declared winner. ITV renewed the show for a second series on 29 May 2015. The second series aired from 2 January to 13 February 2016, again with 250 competitors. Fifteen finalists competed; three reached Stage 2 but failed on the same obstacle, and Owen McKenzie was declared Last Ninja Standing. Fifteen finalists included six who completed Stage 1 and two who completed Stage 2 before failing on the Crazy Cliffhanger; Jonny Urzuly was declared Last Ninja Standing. The fourth series aired from 14 April to 2 June 2018, featuring celebrity contestants alongside the public. The number of heats was reduced to four, with the top 15 per heat advancing, and 30 places available in the Eliminator.