The television mogul married to Holly Willoughby has already benefited from a lucrative deal with the BBC to manufacture the revamped Gladiators.
And now producer Dan Baldwin has found a way to make even more money from Saturday night’s success: creating a talent agency to represent nearly all of the show’s hottest new stars.
At least 12 of the 16 Gladiators have signed up to his company, Hungry Bear Talent, giving him a share of future profits as his fame explodes thanks to his appearances on the BBC.
Those on her books include heartthrob Alex Gray, known as Apollo on the show, Crossfit champion Emily Steele, who is Dynamite, Olympic sprinter Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, who is Nitro, and 6ft 5in Jamie Christian Johal , also known as Giant.
Holly Willoughby and her husband, producer Dan Baldwin, photographed on a night out in London in 2022
Baldwin, 48, launched the talent agency last year after signing the deal with the BBC to remake Gladiators, 24 years after the original series aired on ITV.
With Gladiators attracting more than eight million viewers per episode, stars are inundated with offers for their services, such as endorsement deals and personal appearances.
A TV insider told The Mail on Sunday: ‘This is a smart commercial decision. Dan made the reboot with his company, sold it to the BBC for a lot of money and has now shrewdly signed some of his most popular young stars. Whatever they earn now, he will get extra money through the management company. Some might think he’s a little greedy. The BBC is not supposed to be a showcase for Dan to profit from.
Also on Hungry Bear Talent’s books are the athletes behind Athena, Diamond, Legend, Bionic, Fire, Sabre, Viper and Steel, while two of the four remaining Gladiators have Instagram pages directing inquiries to the company.
Baldwin, 48, launched the talent agency last year after signing the deal with the BBC to remake Gladiators, 24 years after the original series aired on ITV.
Alex Gray and Emily Steele, known as Apollo and Dynamite on Gladiators, are two of the 12 cast members who signed up with Dan Baldwin’s talent agency, Hungry Bear Talent.
The cast of the new Dan Baldwin-produced Gladiators reboot pictured with Bradley and Barney Walsh.
She founded Hungry Bear Media in 2014 and has become one of the UK’s most successful production companies.
He founded Hungry Bear Media in 2014 and has become one of the UK’s most successful production companies, making shows including Michael McIntyre’s Big Show, which follows Gladiators on BBC1’s Saturday night lineup, and Breaking Dad , starring Gladiators hosts Bradley and Barney Walsh. .
Other projects include The Wheel and Freeze The Fear With Wim Hof, which Ms Willoughby presented.
Baldwin is close to BBC chief content officer Charlotte Moore. In November 2022, she took him and Willoughby, 43, to the Variety Club Showbiz Awards at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel.
Baldwin is one of the UK’s most sought-after television producers and began his career on the early 2000s ITV children’s show Ministry Of Mayhem, which Ms Willoughby co-presented.
The couple married in a stunning ceremony at Amberley Castle in West Sussex in 2007 and now have three children together.