Gladiators (1992 British TV series)

Gladiators is a British television game show centred around sports entertainment activities. It is an adaptation of the earlier American television programme and its format, American Gladiators. The British version was produced by London Weekend Television (LWT) for commercial television network ITV. It was first broadcast 10 October 1992; 31 years ago (1992-10-10), and the original incarnation ran until 1 January 2000; 23 years ago (2000-01-01).

Gladiators
Genre	Game show
Created by	Dan Carr and John Ferraro (as American Gladiators)
Based on	American Gladiators
Presented by	Ulrika Jonsson John Fashanu Jeremy Guscott
Starring	John Anderson
Narrated by	John Sachs
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	13
No. of episodes	133
Production
Production locations	National Indoor Arena, Birmingham, England
Camera setup	multi-camera
Running time	60 minutes (inc. adverts)
Production company	LWT Productions in association with The Samuel Goldwyn Company
Release
Original network	ITV
Original release	10 October 1992 (1992-10-10) – 1 January 2000 (2000-01-01)
Related
Gladiators: Train 2 Win (1995–1998) Gladiators (2008–2009) Gladiators (2023–)

The programme's format sees four contestants, two male and two female, compete in a series of physically challenging events against the show's resident 'Gladiators', eventually competing in one final event. The contestants aim to secure a place in the grand final, and ultimately be crowned champion for their respective series. There were no prizes awarded to the winner in any episode, only in the grand final. Gladiators was presented by Ulrika Jonsson throughout its original run, alongside John Fashanu (1992–96, 1999–2000) and Jeremy Guscott (1997–98), with John Sachs providing commentary on each event, and John Anderson refereeing the contests. A group of cheerleaders also accompanied the show, known as the 'G-Force'.

The success of the British series itself spawned further adaptations in Australia and other countries as part of a franchise, while a children's spin-off version for the UK, entitled Gladiators: Train 2 Win, was also created and broadcast on the CITV strand between September 1995 and March 1998, along with a series of live arena shows. A revival of Gladiators was produced for satellite TV channel Sky1, broadcast between May 2008 and October 2009. A second revival is set to be broadcast on BBC One in 2023, to be presented by Bradley Walsh alongside his son Barney.^[1]

Format

The format of the TV show Gladiators involves various contestants battling against one of the shows' resident Gladiators, in a number of physically challenging events. The objective is for the contestant to secure points (and the 'Gladiator' to prevent this) for the final event, The Eliminator. Typically, four contestants would appear in each episode, two male (Red and Blue) and two female (Pink and Yellow), and each contestant would compete in five or six events, depending on the series or time constraints.

In each event, the contestants will score a number of points, usually ten for a win. Typically, both male and female contestants would compete in the same events; however, during series six, this format was removed; female contestants would play easier games, whilst male contestants would play more difficult games. Once all five or six games are played, the number of points is totalled and the contestant with the highest number of points gets a head start in The Eliminator assault course, with every point ahead of their competitor worth half a second. The winner of The Eliminator then progresses to compete in the next round.

A series typically consisted of fifteen episodes: eight heats, four quarter finals, two semi-finals, and the grand final; apart from the first series, which consisted of nine episodes: six heats, two semi-finals and a grand final. Occasionally, a celebrity or charity special was broadcast after the grand final. Mini series, such as the final series (series 8), would consist of three episodes: two heats and a grand final, whilst the two International series consisted of seven episodes: four heats, two semi-finals, and a grand final.

Events

Main article: List of Gladiators UK events

Despite being filmed and produced by London Weekend Television (LWT, the ITV network regional franchisee for London at the weekend), all episodes of Gladiators, International Gladiators, the second series of The Ashes, and the first series of Springbok Challenge were actually filmed at the National Indoor Arena (NIA) in Birmingham, whose regional ITV franchisee was Central Television. The first series of The Ashes and The Springbok Challenge II were filmed at the locations of the Australian and South African series' respectively.

After series one, which had six events always in the same order: Atlaspheres, The Wall, Danger Zone, Swingshot, Hang Tough, and Duel, the format changed from series to series, with new events being added every year and randomised. However, two events never made it onto the televised show (Breakthrough & Conquer, and Cyclotron).^{[clarification needed]} Over the years, some events (Tilt, Joust, Pole-Axe, and Pyramid) were discontinued due to safety reasons, although the latter two returned following safety modifications; one event (Pursuit) disappeared without reason or explanation, despite being both popular with viewers, and was not known to have caused any injuries.

Cast and crew

Presenters

Over the course of the eight domestic series, Gladiators had three main presenters. Former ITV breakfast show TV-am weather presenter Ulrika Jonsson was with the show from the first episode, and in many ways was its main primary presenter, due to her TV background. Despite having no hosting experience, former professional footballer John Fashanu was given the role of male host of the series. For series six and seven, Fashanu was replaced by former professional rugby union player Jeremy Guscott.

The Gladiators

Female Gladiators
character	portrayed by	domestic series	international series	live shows
Amazon	Sharron Davies	series 4	—	Wembley 1996
Blaze	Eunice Huthart	—	—	Sheffield 1995
Falcon	Bernadette Hunt^[2]	series 2–8	International Gladiators 1–2, The Ashes 2 (reserve)	Wembley 1994, Sheffield 1995, Wembley 1996
Flame	Kimbra LeAnne Standish	series 1	—	Wembley 1993
Fox	Tammy Baker	series 6–8	—	The Royal Tournament 1998
Gold	Lize Van Der Walt	series 6	—	—
Jet	Diane Youdale	series 1–4	International Gladiators 1–2, The Ashes 1	Wembley 1993–1994, Sheffield 1995, Wembley 1996
Laser	Tina Andrew	series 5	The Ashes 2, Springbok Challenge	—
Lightning	Kim Betts	series 1–8	International Gladiators 1–2, The Ashes 1–2, Springbok Challenge	Wembley 1993–1994, Sheffield 1995, Wembley 1996
Nightshade	Judy Simpson	series 2–5	International Gladiators 1–2, The Ashes 1	Wembley 1994, Sheffield 1995, Wembley 1996
Panther	Helen O'Reilly	series 1–5	International Gladiators 1–2	Wembley 1993–1994, Sheffield 1995, Wembley 1996
Phoenix	Sandy Young	series 1	—	Wembley 1993
Rebel	Jennifer Stoute	series 5–8	Springbok Challenge	Wembley 1996, The Royal Tournament 1997
Rio	Jane Omorogbe	series 5–8	The Ashes 2, Springbok Challenge	Wembley 1996
Rocket	Pauline Richards	series 6	Springbok Challenge	The Royal Tournament 1998
Scorpio	Nikki Diamond	series 1–3	International Gladiators 1	Wembley 1993–1994
Siren	Alison Paton	series 6–8	—	—
Vogue	Suzanne Cox	series 4–8	International Gladiators 2; The Ashes 1–2, Springbok Challenge	Sheffield 1995, Wembley 1996
Zodiac	Kate Staples	series 2–5	International Gladiators 1–2	Wembley 1993–1994, Sheffield 1995, Wembley 1996
Male Gladiators
character	portrayed by	domestic series	international series	live shows
Ace	Warren Furman	series 5–8	The Ashes 2, Springbok Challenge	Wembley 1996
Bullit	Mike Harvey	—	—	Wembley 1993
Cobra	Michael Willson	series 1–8	International Gladiators 1–2, Springbok Challenge	Wembley 1993–1994, Sheffield 1995, Wembley 1996
Diesel	Daz Crawford^[3]	series 7	—	—
Hawk	Aleks Georgijev	series 1	—	Wembley 1993
Hunter	James Crossley	series 2–8	International Gladiators 1–2, The Ashes 1–2, Springbok Challenge	Wembley 1994, Sheffield 1995, Wembley 1996, The Royal Tournament 1997–1998
Khan	Radosev Nekic	series 6	—	The Royal Tournament 1998
Raider	Carlton Headley	series 4	International Gladiators 2	Sheffield 1995
Rhino	Mark Smith	series 4–8	International Gladiators 2, The Ashes 1–2, Springbok Challenge	Sheffield 1995, Wembley 1996, The Royal Tournament 1997
Saracen	Mike Lewis	series 1–8	International Gladiators 1, The Ashes 2, Springbok Challenge	Wembley 1993–1994, Sheffield 1995, Wembley 1996
Shadow	Jefferson King	series 1–3	International Gladiators 1	Wembley 1993–1994
Trojan	Mark Griffin	series 2–5	International Gladiators 1–2	Wembley 1993–1994, Sheffield 1995, Wembley 1996
Vulcan	John Seru	series 7	International Gladiators 2, The Ashes 1–2, Australian Gladiators 1–3	—
Warrior	Michael Ahearne^[4]	series 1–6	International Gladiators 1–2, The Ashes 1	Wembley 1993–1994, Sheffield 1995, Wembley 1996, The Royal Tournament 1997
Wolf	Michael Van Wijk	series 1–8	International Gladiators 1–2, The Ashes 1–2, Springbok Challenge	Wembley 1993–1994, Sheffield 1995, Wembley 1996, The Royal Tournament 1997

In 1999, James Crossley (also known as Hunter) was crowned 'The Ultimate Gladiator' in Battle of the Giants, the penultimate episode of the final series.^[5]

Both Cobra (Michael Willson) and Lightning (Kim Betts) were never originally intended to be Gladiators. Instead, they trained and entered as contestants, and it wasn't until hours before the first recording that it was decided two more Gladiators would be required for the series. This is the reason neither appear on the cover of the music CD that was released to accompany the series. They were both upgraded to full-time participants in show three, and both remained until the very end of the programme.

Saracen (Mike Lewis) originally auditioned to be a contestant. After stunning producers in training, he was offered a role on the main Gladiator team.

Fox (Tammy Baker) originally appeared as a contestant during the Wembley live shows of 1993. She was hand-picked to be a reserve Gladiator for the sixth series, however, she ended up becoming a full-time participant after Gold injured herself during training. When the British series ended, Fox became a member of the South African Gladiators team, appearing in their final domestic series.

Laser (Tina Andrew) originally trained and entered as a contender but was later made into a reserve Gladiator due to several female Gladiators being unable to compete due to ongoing injury problems. She later ended up becoming a full-time Gladiator, even appearing in the Second Ashes series.

Vulcan (John Seru) joined the British Gladiators series after his native Australian edition of the series was cancelled. In international Gladiators 2 and both Ashes competitions, he competed for Australia.

Wolf (Michael Van Wijk) later became the team coach for the new set of Gladiators, who appeared in the 2008 revival of the series.

Diesel (Daz Crawford) and Vulcan only participated in the Battle of the Giants special in series eight. Daz Crawford would go on to appear in many other television shows and films, including a James Bond film The World Is Not Enough.^[3]

Contenders

Applicants who wanted to take part in the show had to go through rigorous fitness tests before they were selected to take part. Footage of several of the tests was broadcast during behind-the-scenes segments during both the first and second series.

Notable competitors on the show include future British 400 metre hurdler Chris Rawlinson, Wales International Rugby Union winger Glen Webbe, female wrestler Non Evans (who appeared only once during the sixth series), and cage fighter Alex Reid during the seventh series.

Most competitors achieved brief local fame, but series three women's champion Eunice Huthart earned great recognition, and briefly presented late night television before becoming Angelina Jolie's stunt double in Hollywood films. Several competitors from the show's history later went on to appear on Total Wipeout, the most notable being series seven contestants Colm Curran and Micah Hudson.

Series five winner Mark Mottram went on to become a professional stuntman and was Pierce Brosnan's stunt double in the James Bond films. He appeared in Batman (as Heath Ledger's double). He is married to Debbie Carpeter Mottram, who was a cheerleader he met on Gladiators. Series 1 winner Weininger Irwin appeared in the BBC Two series Back in Time for Brixton in November 2016, in which a family live an immersive experience of fifty years of black British history;^[6] in one episode, he and his family watched his victory in the first series final.

Champions

Gladiators series champions

series		female	male
1	winner	Vanda Fairchild	Weininger Irwin
	runner-up	Jane Morris	Kym Dalton
2	winner	Jean Klenk	Phil Norman
	runner-up	Georgina Berger	Brian Ward
3	winner	Eunice Huthart	Paul Field
	runner-up	Kerryn Sampey	Phil Campbell *
4	winner	Janet Allen	Mark Everitt
	runner-up	Mandy Beacher	Regan Pilkington
5	winner	Andreya Wharry	Mark Mottram
	runner-up	Sarah Damm	Buster Reeves
6	winner	Audrey Garland	Piers Bryant
	runner-up	Wendy Famiglietti	Adam Stretton
7	winner	Jane Smith	Dave Walter
	runner-up	Louise Raines	Neil Parsley
8	winner	Jane Smith	Dave Walter
	runner-up	Andreya Wharry	Mark Everitt

• Sam Codjoe reached the series 3 final. However he was injured at the beginning of Powerball, the fourth game of the night, as a result of a mistimed tackle from Shadow, and was replaced by Phil Campbell (whom he defeated in his semi-final). The £2,000 runner-up prize was split equally between the two, as both were deemed to have competed in three games.

John Anderson

Main article: John Anderson (TV personality)

John Anderson has been the head official referee. Before each individual event, he called: "Contender ready? Gladiator ready?", similar to his American counterpart, Larry Thompson, but he added a countdown, "Three! Two! One!", before starting each game. During celebrity specials, Anderson took a more light-hearted attitude to the show, such as adapting his call to "Little contender ready?" when Willie Carson took part.

John had an assistant on the show, known as the 'Official Timekeeper'. The role was predominately filled by Andrew Norgate, who was also an associate producer, from the second series on 18 September 1993 to the eighth series on 1 January 2000. Norgate was replaced by former professional athlete Derek Redmond for series 3 (1994), and Eugene Gilkes for series 6 (1997), and also for the 1998 Springbok Challenge series; his arch-nemesis is male gladiator Wolf.

Children's spin-off

Main article: Gladiators: Train 2 Win

In the late 1990s, when the popularity of the programme began to wane, a spin-off entitled Gladiators: Train 2 Win was produced and was broadcast on CITV in 1996, based on Gladiators 2000, the children's version of American Gladiators. The show featured two teams of children, each captained by a Gladiator (varying each week) which sought to gain the most points. Some of the games differed from those on the parent show; for example, the Eliminator round was more similar to the Pursuit round (though it still featured the famous Travelator).

Controversies

• During the first series in 1992, on the first game of 'The Wall', contender Nicola Bawden slipped away from Scorpio (Nikki Diamond). Scorpio had managed to get hold of her, but she slipped off moments later and dropped to the floor. It was later revealed that Bawden had greased her legs. It was also discovered that Bawden had undone her laces so that Scorpio could not hold onto her training shoes. Although this wasn't explored on the actual programme, the incident was given a mention on the show's first home video release, Into the Arena, as Scorpio made a complaint. After reviewing the footage, referee John Anderson ruled that whilst Bawden did use excessive grease on her legs, there was no actual rule prohibiting this, therefore she was allowed to retain the points she had earned. However Anderson also said that Bawden's actions were not in the spirit of competition, and so new rules were immediately put in place to prevent her or any other contestants from trying the same tactic. Scorpio was shown to be unhappy with the referee's ruling, and with Bawden's apparent lack of sportsmanship, but when Bawden advanced to the semi-final, Scorpio would get another chance to pull her off the wall and was successful on her second attempt.
• After the Wembley live shows in 1993, Phoenix (Sandy Young), Flame (Kimbra LeAnne Standish), and Hawk (Aleks Georgijev) were dismissed from the show, having received the lowest number of votes from fans in a magazine poll. Series director Nigel Lythgoe was heavily criticised for the decision, and was slammed by TV critics for such ruthlessness. For reasons unknown, Bullit (Mike Harvey), who also appeared at the live shows, was never transferred to the television series. He was dropped for unknown reasons, and despite many press articles regarding the incident, no reason for his departure was ever given.
• During the third series in 1994, Panther (Helen O'Reilly) suffered one of the worst injuries seen on the show when she fell from her platform during 'Tilt' and severely injured her back. She returned to the show later in the series, and remained with the show for a further two years before permanently retiring from the show.
• After the third series in 1994, a newspaper uncovered evidence that Shadow (Jefferson King) had taken steroids. King later confirmed the rumours were true, and was dismissed shortly afterwards. In 2021, he was jailed for six years for the kidnapping, beating, and false imprisonment of Aaron Ali.^[7]
• Series five became known as the 'season of injury'.^{[by whom?]} Before filming started, Jet (Diane Youdale) retired after being injured during a live show in Sheffield on Pyramid. This led to the event being dropped for the upcoming series five. Amazon (Sharron Davies) severely injured her knee during training, and had to retire from the show (she did however appear on all publicity material for this series). Laser was brought in as a replacement, and even used the same costume but with minor changes. Laser made her debut in the fifth episode. Zodiac's (Kate Staples) appearances were limited to only two, both on Danger Zone, due to an injury on Pole Axe during training. She permanently retired from the show the following year. Nightshade (Judy Simpson) made only sparse outings during the series due to a severe virus picked up the previous year in Australia during filming for the first Ashes series. She had to be helped off after a game of Skytrak by the training team, and her final appearance came when beaten on her speciality event, Duel, the only defeat she suffered during domestic competition.
• Also during the fifth series in 1996, it was reported by the media that Hunter (James Crossley) and presenter Ulrika Jonsson were in a relationship. Although heavily denied at the time, Jonsson later admitted it in her 2003 biography.^[8]
• After the sixth series in 1997, Warrior (Michael Ahearne) was sacked from the show.^{[citation needed]}

Format changes and demise

Series seven in 1998 saw noticeable changes; two new male Gladiators joined the team, Diesel and Vulcan. Vulcan was the 'bad boy' of the Australian version of the show, and was brought in to be a rival for Wolf. Behind the scenes aspects were added, including clips of the contenders selections, and training as well as clips showing the contenders choosing which Gladiator they would face on a certain game via coin toss. Three new games were introduced; Catapult, Dogfight, and Vertigo. This was the most new events introduced in a single series since 1994. However, all three failed to win appreciation with viewers. As well as the three new games, four established events (Powerball, Pendulum, Gauntlet, and Whiplash) had rule changes.

Another change was the Gladiators' costumes; the emblems (bow for Hunter, playing cards for Ace etc.) were removed, and a standardised costume was introduced: red for females, and blue for males. The actual 'cut' of each gladiator costume remained the same from the previous series. The basic design was part of the word Gladiators displayed in black on each costume.

Despite the changes, viewing figures continued to fall, and the series was axed on 11 February 1999. However, LWT agreed to film another four episodes for ONdigital, the recently launched digital terrestrial television platform. These episodes were filmed in spring 1999, and saw the return of original host John Fashanu. These consisted of a three-part mini-series, in which previous winners competed to be crowned 'Supreme Gladiators Champion', and a one-off special entitled 'Battle of the Giants', where male gladiators competed against each other for the title of Ultimate Gladiator. The honour went to Hunter (James Crossley).

Similar to the very first series, each episode more or less contained the same games; Powerball, The Wall (female contenders), Swingshot (male contenders), Gauntlet, Hang Tough, and Duel. The only changes were that the male contenders played Atlaspheres instead of Swingshot in the second heat, and Whiplash was played instead of Gauntlet in the Battle of the Giants special.

The four episodes were first broadcast back-to-back on 29 May 1999 on First ONdigital, an exclusive free channel on the ONdigital platform for special events and programmes. The episodes were then shown nationally on the ITV network over the Christmas period, across four successive Saturday nights from 11 December 1999 to 1 January 2000. The ITV broadcast of the final episode on Millennium Day 2000 attracted just over six million viewers.

Transmissions

Domestic series

Gladiators

Series		Episodes		Broadcast dates
				First aired	Last aired
	1	10		10 October 1992 (1992-10-10)	9 January 1993 (1993-01-09)
	2	17		28 August 1993 (1993-08-28)	1 January 1994 (1994-01-01)
	3	18		3 September 1994 (1994-09-03)	31 December 1994 (1994-12-31)
	4	15		16 September 1995 (1995-09-16)	23 December 1995 (1995-12-23)
	Special	1		20 January 1996 (1996-01-20)
	5	16		28 September 1996 (1996-09-28)	11 January 1997 (1997-01-11)
	6	16		13 September 1997 (1997-09-13)	27 December 1997 (1997-12-27)
	7	15		5 September 1998 (1998-09-05)	12 December 1998 (1998-12-12)
	8	4		11 December 1999 (1999-12-11)	1 January 2000 (2000-01-01)

International series

International Gladiators

Series		Episodes		Broadcast dates
				First aired	Last aired
	1	7		7 January 1995 (1995-01-07)	18 February 1995 (1995-02-18)
	2	7		20 April 1996 (1996-04-20)	8 June 1996 (1996-06-08)

The Ashes

Gladiators: The Ashes

Series		Episodes		Broadcast dates
				First aired	Last aired
	1	3		30 December 1995 (1995-12-30)	13 January 1996 (1996-01-13)
	2	3		18 January 1997 (1997-01-18)	1 February 1997 (1997-02-01)

Springbok Challenge

Gladiators: Springbok Challenge

Series		Episodes		Broadcast dates
				First aired	Last aired
	1	3		3 January 1998 (1998-01-03)	17 January 1998 (1998-01-17)

Live shows

For four years, a series of 'live' shows were played in the spring ahead of the recording of the main televised series. These shows were used to test new event concepts and new Gladiators.

1993

• Venue: Wembley Arena, London, England
• Presenters: John Fashanu and Ulrika Jonsson
• Female Gladiators: Flame, Jet, Lightning, Panther, Phoenix, Scorpio, Zodiac
• Male Gladiators: Bullit, Cobra, Hawk, Saracen, Shadow, Trojan, Warrior, Wolf
• Referee: John Anderson
• Timekeeper: Andrew Norgate
• Dates: 26–28 March^[9]

The first set of live shows was used to test three new potential events ahead of the televised series. One of the events, Tilt, would be used in the televised series with little modification. Joust was also tested in this series with pugil sticks being used, but the sybikes were much larger and lower to the ground than the events ultimate appearance in the televised series. A third new event taken from the American series, Breakthrough And Conquer, was also tested, but would not be taken on to the main TV shows. An 'updated version' of Duel on a rocking suspension bridge using pugil sticks was also played,^[10] and this format would be modified and played as a new game called Suspension Bridge in the 1993 televised series. Atlaspheres, The Wall, and the Eliminator were also played.

Three new Gladiators; Bullit, Trojan, and Zodiac, were included in these shows. For unknown reasons, Bullit did not appear in the televised series (though would finally appear in a Legends episode of the 2008 revival series). These shows would be the last to feature Flame, Phoenix, and Hawk; who were dropped before the 1993 televised series.

Some of the contenders from these shows went on to be in the televised shows. One of the contenders, Tammy Baker, would later become a Gladiator, Fox, from 1997 onwards.

Highlights from these shows were shown in a preview episode to the 1993 series, and whilst footage of him playing was included, there was no specific reference to Bullit (or Flame, Phoenix, and Hawk).

1994

• Venue: Wembley Arena, London, England
• Presenters: John Fashanu and Ulrika Jonsson
• Female Gladiators: Falcon, Jet, Lightning, Nightshade, Panther, Scorpio, Zodiac
• Male Gladiators: Cobra, Hunter, Saracen, Shadow, Trojan, Warrior, Wolf
• Referee: John Anderson
• Timekeeper: Derek Redmond

This set of live shows saw the entire 1993 team return. Cobra suffered an ankle injury during the shows, and had to withdraw. Only one new event was tested in this series, Cannonball Run, which was later used in the 1994 televised series under the name Hit & Run. Atlaspheres, The Wall, Powerball, Hang Tough, Duel, and The Eliminator were also played.

Some of the contenders from these shows went on to be in the televised shows.

1995

• Venue: Sheffield Arena, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England
• Presenters: John Fashanu and Ulrika Jonsson
• Female Gladiators: Blaze, Falcon, Jet, Lightning, Nightshade, Panther, Vogue, Zodiac
• Male Gladiators: Cobra, Hunter, Raider, Rhino, Saracen, Trojan, Warrior, Wolf
• Referee: John Anderson
• Timekeeper: Andrew Norgate

Four new Gladiators were introduced in these shows over Easter 1995, with Raider, Rhino, and Vogue subsequently going on to take part in The Ashes series in Brisbane shortly afterwards, before taking part in the 1995 televised series. The third new Gladiator, Blaze, was the 1994 female champion and International Gladiators 1 champion Eunice Huthart. However following these shows, Huthart wanted to compete as a UK challenger for The Ashes series, and stepped down as a Gladiator.^[11]

Unlike the other live shows, these shows took place in Sheffield Arena in the north of England, which was smaller than Wembley Arena in Greater London. Pendulum had been intended to be tested in these shows, but Sheffield Arena was too small to fit the safety net. Instead, Joust was played despite it being one of the least used events in the televised series, and only making one appearance in the 1995 televised series before being axed. Powerball, Pyramid, and Atlaspheres were also played,^[12] with Saracen injuring his knee during Powerball.^[13]

1996

• Venue: Wembley Arena, London, England
• Presenters: John Fashanu and Ulrika Jonsson
• Female Gladiators: Amazon, Falcon, Jet, Lightning, Nightshade, Panther, Rebel, Rio, Vogue, Zodiac
• Male Gladiators: Ace, Cobra, Hunter, Rhino, Saracen, Trojan, Warrior, Wolf
• Referee: John Anderson
• Timekeeper: Andrew Norgate
• Dates: 11–14 April^[14]
• Number of shows: 7

The final set of live shows saw the introduction of Ace, Rebel, and Rio as Gladiators; all of whom would go on to appear in that years' main televised series. Jet would suffer an injury during Pyramid, in which she fell awkwardly trapping nerves in her neck^[15] and she retired from competition after this event. Amazon, who herself sustained an injured knee on Pyramid, would quit between these shows and the 1996 televised series. Pyramid itself would be axed following both these injuries and a leg injury to Rhino during filming of the event on International Gladiators 2 the year before.

Sumo Ball was tested in these shows, and would feature as the only new event of the 1996 main televised series. Other events played were Atlaspheres, Powerball, Gauntlet, Hang Tough, and the Eliminator.

Royal Tournaments

In 1997 and 1998, a short segment of Gladiators was introduced to the Royal Tournament event at Earls Court after London Weekend Television won the broadcasting rights from the BBC. Duel would feature in the 1997 Royal Tournament, and Pursuit featured in the 1998 Royal Tournament, despite it having been axed after the 1996 series. Hunter was the only gladiator to take part in the 1997 Royal Tournament (since Duel was his best event). For its Royal Tournament appearance, Pursuit saw a ten-second head-start (rather than three) for the contenders with the course being a sprint round a cone, web trap (over), low wall, web trap (under), hand ladder, high wall, sprint round a cone, spaghetti junction (used in the Eliminator in 1996), and sprint finish. The balance beam and wire bridge from the televised series course were not used. Fox, Rocket, Khan, and Hunter took part in the shows, despite Rocket and Khan not appearing in the 1998 series, and the Gladiators (except Hunter) not having had chance to play Pursuit in the televised series.

Merchandise

During the show's first three series, popular model makers Hornby made a selection of action figures and playsets based on the TV show.

The first release of figures consisted of Jet (B800), Shadow (B801), Wolf (B802), Saracen (B803), Cobra (B804), Warrior (B805), and generic figures of a Male Contender (B806) and Female Contender (B807). The first wave of playsets included Duel (B821, which contained American-style Ramrods), Atlasphere Attack (B822, which contained a yellow Atlasphere and a Wolf figure), Danger Zone (B823, with Warrior figure), Atlasphere Challenge (B824, blue and red Atlaspheres with Cobra and Male Contender figures), Super Duel (B825, with Shadow and Male Contender figures), and The Ultimate Challenge (B826, which contains all of the above). B823 was due to include a Hawk Action figure, but due to his departure from the show, a figure was never released.

The second release of figures included Trojan (B815), Hunter (B816), Zodiac (B817), and Panther (B818), as well as revised versions of Jet (B800) and Wolf (B802). A second wave of playsets included The Wall (B827).

A final release of figures were released for the first International Gladiators series. These consisted of a revised version of Hunter, and figures of Hawk (United States), Terminator (Finland), and Dynamite (Russia). In 1995, McDonald's gave away an exclusive range of figures through a Happy Meal promotion. These consisted of new models of Trojan, Wolf, Jet, Lightning, and the previously unreleased Rhino. Notably, many of the moulds for the Hornby series were shipped over to Australia, and reused for a range of Australian Gladiators figures. While the Male Contender remained the same, Taipan has an identical head to Wolf, and Vulcan shares an identical head to Saracen. Figures of Tower, Commander, Condor, and Hammer were also released, along with an identical 'Duel' playset.

Along with these popular models and play sets, everything from decorative display plates to clocks were released. Two audio CD and audio cassette tape compilations were released during the early years of the show, containing tracks such as "Holding Out for a Hero", "We Are Family", and "The Boys Are Back in Town", as well as the instrumental music used during events, and a three minute version of the programme's opening theme song.

VHS releases

During the show's first four series, a number of official VHS video cassette tapes were released by Clear Vision (with some released through their Silver Vision label). These contained episodes, specials, or other material exclusive for home release. Many quickly sold out and are rare. The following VHS releases were available:

• GL001 – Into the Arena – contains heats 1 and 2 from series 1 (1992)^[16]
• GL002 – Powerplay – contains heats 3 and 4 from series 1 (1992)^[17]
• GL003 – The Conflict – contains heats 5 and 6 from series 1 (1992)^[18]
• GL004 – Countdown – contains semi-finals 1 and 2 from series 1 (1992)^[19]
• GL005 – The Ultimate Challenge – contains the grand final from series 1 (1992)^[20]
• GL006 – The Very Best of Gladiators – contains the special episode 'The Challenge of the Gladiators' (1993)^[21]
• GL007 – Gladiators Return – contains the special episode 'Return of the Gladiators' (1993)^[22]
• GL008 – Contenders Ready, Gladiators Ready – contains heats 1 and 2 from series 2 (1993)^[23]
• GL009 – Arena Attack – contains heats 3, 4, and 5 from series 2 (1993)^[24]
• GL010 – Battleground – contains heats 6, 7, and 8 from series 2 (1993)^[25]
• GL011 – Combat – contains quarter finals 1 to 4 from series 2 (1993)^[26]
• GL012 – The Ultimate Challenge '93 – contains semi-finals 1 and 2 and the grand final from series 2, plus the special episode 'The Battle of the Gladiators' (1993)^[27]
• GL013 – The Climax – contains semi-finals 1 and 2, plus the grand final from series 3 (1994), plus footage from the 'International Challenge of Champions I' (1993)^[28]
• GL014 – The Gladiators Challenge '94–'95 – contains the special episodes 'The Return', 'The Celebrity Challenge', and 'The Fighting Forces Challenge' (1994)^[29]
• GL015 – International Gladiators: The Showdown – contains semi-finals 1 and 2, plus the grand final from International Gladiators I (1994)^[30]
• GL016 – The Power To Win – contains the special episode 'The Power To Win' (1995)^[31]
• SV001 – Jet: A Video Profile – contains the special episode 'Jet: a video profile' (1995)^[32]

Subsequent versions

Sky One revival

Main article: Gladiators (2008 British TV series)

In January 2008, satellite TV channel Sky One announced they were commissioning a UK revival of Gladiators which would follow the general format set by its counterpart American revival. Made by independent producer Shine, the revival first broadcast in May 2008, with a second series shown in January 2009. On 20 May 2009, the series was discontinued by the then newly appointed controller for Sky One, Stuart Murphy.^[33]

BBC revival

Main article: Gladiators (2023 British TV series)

In July 2022, it was reported that public service broadcaster BBC were in talks with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, who hold the rights to the original format, to relaunch the show on BBC One. According to sources, BBC Television plans to relaunch the series in 2023, with filming taking place in Sheffield.^[34] In August 2022, it was confirmed that Gladiators would return to British television in 2023, and would be produced by Hungry Bear Media and MGM Television.^[35] Bradley Walsh is to present the revival with his son Barney, with the first of the new Gladiators, Fury (Jodie Ounsley) and Steel (Zack George), announced the same day on The One Show. The remaining new Gladiators were revealed on various daytime TV shows throughout the rest of the month.

This will be the second time Gladiators has been rebooted since the first revival was broadcast on Sky One in 2008.^[36]

See also

• Gladiators (franchise)

References

1. "Presenters Ready? Bradley and Barney Walsh are confirmed as hosts of Gladiators". BBC.co.uk. BBC. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
2. "Gladiators star Falcon dies aged 59: Tributes paid to 'most lovely' ballerina-turned-bodybuilder". News.Sky.com. Sky News.
3. Ferratti, Rebecca (n.d.). "Daz Crawford – biography". IMDb.com. IMDb.com, Inc. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
4. Thomas, Joe (11 February 2018). "Warrior: The ups and downs of Mike Ahearne". LiverpoolEcho. Liverpool Echo.
5. "Hunter (James Crossley) – Gladiators". GladiatorsTV.com.
6. "BBC Two – Back in Time for Brixton". BBC.co.uk. BBC.
7. "Jefferson King: Shadow from Gladiators jailed for more than six years for drug debt violence". Standard.co.uk. Evening Standard. 27 August 2021.
8. "Hurt girls looking for a father figure". Scotsman.com. The Scotsman. 23 April 2002. Retrieved 30 June 2007.
9. Trojan: my life with the Gladiators p13 ISBN 1852866934
10. Gladiators Annual 1994 p40 ISBN 0749813644)
11. "Blaze (Eunice Huthart) – Gladiators". GladiatorsTV.com.
12. Gladiators Annual 1996 p44 ISBN 074982395X
13. Gladiators Annual 1996 p24 ISBN 074982395X
14. Promotional flyer for Wembley live shows
15. "Jet (Diane Youdale) – Gladiators". GladiatorsTV.com.
16. "Gladiators: Into the Arena [VHS]: video". Amazon.co.uk. Amazon UK. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
17. "Gladiators – Powerplay [1992]: Ulrika Jonsson, John Fashanu, John Sachs: video". Amazon.co.uk. Amazon UK. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
18. "Gladiators – The Conflict [1992] [VHS]: video". Amazon.co.uk. Amazon UK. 30 November 1992. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
19. "Gladiators – Countdown [1992] [VHS]: John Sachs, Saracen, Scorpio, Warrior, Jet, Wolf, Panther, Nigel Lythgoe, Ulrika Jonsson, John Fashanu: video". Amazon.co.uk. Amazon UK. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
20. "Gladiators – The Ultimate Challenge [1992] [VHS]: Ulrika Jonsson, John Fashanu, John Sachs, Nigel Lythgoe: video". Amazon.co.uk. Amazon UK. 7 December 1992. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
21. "Gladiators - Best of 1992 [VHS]: video". Amazon.co.uk. Amazon UK. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
22. "Gladiators: Gladiators Return [VHS]: Saracen, Warrior, Wolf, Lightning, Scorpio, Jet, Cobra, Shadow, Panther, Hunter, Nigel Lythgoe: video". Amazon.co.uk. Amazon UK. 11 September 1995. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
23. "Gladiators 1993 – Contenders Ready, Gladiators Ready!: Ulrika Jonsson, John Fashanu, John Sachs, Nigel Lythgoe: video". Amazon.co.uk. Amazon UK. 11 September 1995. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
24. "Gladiators 93 - Arena Attack [VHS]: video". Amazon.co.uk. Amazon UK. 11 September 1995. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
25. "Gladiators 1993 – The Battleground [1993] [VHS]: Ulrika Jonsson, John Fashanu, John Sachs, Nigel Lythgoe: video". Amazon.co.uk. Amazon UK. 11 September 1995. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
26. "Gladiators 1993 – Combat [1993] [VHS]: Ulrika Jonsson, John Fashanu, John Sachs, Nigel Lythgoe: video". Amazon.co.uk. Amazon UK. 11 September 1995. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
27. "Gladiators 93 - Ultimate Challenge [VHS]: Gladiators: video". Amazon.co.uk. Amazon UK. 11 September 1995. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
28. Ulrika Jonsson (11 September 1995). "Gladiators 94 – The Climax [1994] [VHS]: Ulrika Jonsson, John Fashanu, John Sachs, Nigel Lythgoe: video". Amazon.co.uk. Amazon UK. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
29. "Gladiators 1994: Challenge 1994/95 [VHS]: video". Amazon.co.uk. Amazon UK. 11 September 1995. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
30. "Gladiators 1995 – International Gladiators 1995 – The Showdown! [1995] [VHS]: video". Amazon.co.uk. Amazon UK. 11 September 1995. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
31. "Gladiators - The Power to Win [VHS]: video". Amazon.co.uk. Amazon UK. 4 December 1995. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
32. "Gladiators – Jet – A Video Profile [1992] [VHS]: Jet: video". Amazon.co.uk. Amazon UK. 11 September 1995. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
33. Holmwood, Leigh (21 May 2009). "Sky1 axes Gladiators and Don't Forget the Lyrics – New controller Stuart Murphy gives Gladiators the thumbs down in one of his first moves at the channel". TheGuardian.com. The Guardian, Guardian News & Media Limited. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
34. Frost, Caroline (30 July 2022). "BBC in talks with MGM Studios to bring back 'Gladiators', one of UK's biggest 1990s shows". Deadline.com. Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
35. "Contenders Ready! Gladiators Ready! Iconic entertainment series Gladiators is set to burst back onto screens in 2023". BBC.co.uk. BBC. 25 August 2022.
36. Ritman, Alex (25 August 2022). "'Gladiators' getting U.K. reboot on BBC". HollywoodReporter.com. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 25 August 2022.

External links

•  Television portal
•  1990s portal
•  2000s portal
•  United Kingdom portal

• Gladiators — official website
• The GladPod — the Gladiators Podcast
• Gladiators at IMDb
• — at BFI, via Archive.org
• — at BFI, via Archive.org
• — at BFI, via Archive.org
• Gladiators at UKGameshows.com