[tellyblues]

Sorry? Why does Gladiators, which aired at 6pm for the majority of the last run, affect why ITV won’t commission something to air in the heart of primetime?

Because it's a fantastic lead-in for other BBC1 shows which would be left isolated and beatable without it, as opposed to Wheel of Fortune which does little to bolster ITV's line-up. It also, I would say, dissuades them from commissioning a Gladiators type show for themselves, though it probably couldn't match up to it anyway. They won't have a run-of-the-mill game show either because then The 1% Club will suffer.

ITV could have had something new and popular enough to replace SNT but what they have been commissioning lately isn't of the standard or the sort that would work well on Saturday nights.