The Games is a brand new series from ITV. Hosted by Holly Willoughby and Freddie Flintoff, the sporting event will see twelve celebrities battle it out in the athletics arena, the swimming pool, gymnasium, and velodrome. Starting on Monday, May 9 at 9pm on the channel, The Games will broadcast live every night this week.
Throughout each episode, the stars taking part will put their sporting prowess to the test in order to rack up points on the medals table. The Games will also see former professional footballer and presenter Alex Scott as trackside reporter and former professional football player and presenter Chris Kamara as commentator. There will also be sporting guests on the panel, including Tyson fury.
But who is in the full The Games line-up? Those going head-to-head include Love Island stars, a former Strictly Come Dancing professional, and a Harry Potter actor.
Read more: The Games on ITV: Who is presenting the series, which celebs are taking part and how the show works
ITV's The Games line-up
Olivia Attwood
Reality television star and TV personality Olivia appeared in the 2017 series of Love Island and later The Only Way is Essex.
Olivia, 30, said: "When I was younger, I loved sport and I was so sporty, but over the years I’ve become so distanced from it. So when this show came up I thought, 'When would I ever get the chance to do sport on this level with these amazing facilities and all these amazing athletes and coaches training us?' I just thought it was too good a chance to pass up."
Phoenix Gulzar-Brown
Model and influencer Phoenix Gulzar-Brown is the daughter of Spice Girl Mel B. The-23-year-old said: "I'm excited about everything, the challenge, the whole competition. It's something I've never done before. I love sport, so this is kind of my field. I'm going to be competitive in all the events. I'm a competitive person! Friendly competitiveness is healthy, so I’m really excited.
"Everyone is great, everyone is so nice. I'm not super fit but I’m very active and I really enjoy it. It's something I'm glad to be back out, doing sports again."
Kevin Clifton
Kevin is a professional dancer best known for competing in seven series of Strictly Come Dancing and five finals, before winning the show in 2018.
The 39-year-old said: "There are two main reasons for me taking part in The Games. One is that everything in my life has been about performing, dancing, acting and singing and it's usually felt quite comfortable, and then last year, I did Singing in the Rain and I've never done tap-dancing before and I had to learn tap-dancing for that.
"The fact that it went well has put me in the zone of thinking, 'Ok, if I properly put my mind to something then maybe I can do something completely different.' Also, I'm turning 40 this year and I don't want it to feel like I've done everything I wanted to do, in terms of dancing and performing and so now I'm getting older so I'll just slow down. I want to get to 40 and be in the best shape of my life. So, I'm doing something completely new and outside my comfort zone."
Max George
Singer Max is best known for being a member of band The Wanted but his first love was football and he played for Manchester City's youth squad for over two years.
The 33-year-old said: "I really wanted to experience what it’s like to eat and live like an athlete, you know. To get to go the velodrome and go to where the pros train every day. It’s like a once-in-a-lifetime thing, so taking part was a no-brainer for me."
Chelcee Grimes
Singer, Grammy-nominated songwriter, and footballer Chelcee Grimes has written songs for Kylie Minogue, Dua Lipa, and Olly Murs. Chelcee started her footballing career by signing to Liverpool at the age of 10.
The 29-year-old said: "I'm taking part in The Games because I love a challenge. For me this is the biggest challenge there is, learning nine events, over a space of about six weeks, will be challenging in itself.
"Also I'm very competitive, so I'm going to be winning gold! Being a footballer, it's been in my DNA from a young age that you don't lose, you don’t draw, you go and win. And if you can’t win, don’t lose! So we'll see what tactics I come up with."
Josh Herdman
Actor Josh, 35, is best known for playing bad boy Gregory Goyle in Harry Potter. He said of joining the show: "I love a challenge and I'm really competitive. I always want to learn new stuff and we are being taught by the best coaches and teachers. It will be a fantastic life experience, learning new things, having a challenge and competition, so it ticks all the boxes for me."
Christine McGuinness
Christine is an author, model, and Autism ambassador. The 34-year-old opened up about all three of her children being diagnosed with autism last year and revealed that she had also been diagnosed. Christine starred in a documentary alongside Paddy last year to raise awareness about autism.
She said: "I'm taking part in The Games for my three children, who are my biggest inspiration. They just go for it with anything in life and they really inspire me. I've always been a bit scared, especially with sport.
"When I was at school I would never have put myself forward for the netball team or anything. I was that girl at school that never took part. But my children just do it. So because of them, they've inspired me to push myself out of my comfort zone and do something a bit different."
Colson Smith
Actor Colson, 23, is best known for his role as Craig Tinker in Coronation Street, a role he has played since her was 11 years old.
He said: "It's the aspect of a challenge that appealed to me about The Games and to prove to myself that I can do it. I've learnt in recent years that there are no limitations as to what I can and cannot do. This opportunity came up and it seemed like the perfect next step in my fitness journey.
"It's a tough one to choose my best event because they're all so varied. Everyone thinks I'm all about the running, but the running that I usually do is so different to this style of running, that it's almost alien. I'm looking forward to learning new skills and learning from the best coaches, in the best venues, that I can."
Lucrezia Millarini
Lucrezia is an ITV News anchor and journalist, she is one of the regular newsreaders for the channel's lunchtime and evening news programmes. The 46-year-old participated in ITV's Dancing On Ice in 2020 with dance partner Brendyn Hatfield and won Celebrity Mastermind in the same year.
She said: "I agreed to do this because I just thought, 'What an amazing opportunity'. I couldn't possibly turn it down. I already enjoy working out and I’m really interested to see just how far I can push my body.
"And yes, I'm just a little bit competitive! I want to do well in this. While everyone’s really lovely and we're getting on great at right now, I'm sure that competitive edge will emerge the closer we get to the live shows."
Wes Nelson
Wes Nelson, 23, is a music artist and television personality who previously shot to fame in Love Island and Dancing On Ice. He said: "I'm here to fall back in love with sport again, I really haven’t done any sort of training, gym or running for four years now.
"And I could never have imagined myself saying that four years ago or having a life without sport. I wanted to fall back in love with it and back into it and get that engine and passion burning again."
Rebecca Sarker
Actor Rebecca, 46, is currently at the centre of an explosive storyline as Manpreet Sharma in Emmerdale. She has previously appeared in many TV programmes such as Dark Heart, Twenty Twelve, Holby City and Coronation Street.
She said: "I feel this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for me. I was very honoured and surprised to be asked to be involved and my children would probably never forgive me if I didn't take part. It's an opportunity to learn new skills and new disciplines, increase my fitness and challenge myself."
Ryan Thomas
The 37-year-old is an actor best known for his role as Jason Grimshaw in Coronation Street. Since leaving the soap in 2016, Ryan has appeared in Neighbours, The Island with Bear Grylls, won Celebrity Big Brother and filmed ITV series Mancs in Mumbai with his brothers Adam and Scott.
He said: "I think this is an amazing opportunity to give myself motivation, focus, keep fit mentally and physically, meet new people and learn new skills. I’m totally taking myself out of my comfort zone which is why we are all here I think."
The Games kicks off on ITV at 9pm on Monday, May 9. For more showbiz and television stories, sign up to our newsletter here.
