Series and shows

Series 1 (1992)

Gladiator Team (12 Gladiators)

• Men: Cobra, Hawk, Saracen, Shadow, Warrior and Wolf
• Women: Flame, Jet, Lightning, Panther, Phoenix and Scorpio
• First appearances of: Cobra, Flame, Hawk, Jet, Lightning, Panther, Phoenix, Saracen, Scorpio, Shadow, Warrior and Wolf

Events (6 Events)

• Atlaspheres: One of the best games visually, but often not a high scoring game. Roll around in steel cages with the aim of rolling over one of four pods, scoring points and triggering a smoke effect into the bargain.
• The Wall: Contenders scramble up a climbing wall with hand and footholds while the Glads are around 15 seconds behind. Get to the top of the wall before you get pulled off by your pursuing Glad and you're ten points the richer.
• Danger Zone: Contestants must dodge tennis balls being served at Sampras speed by the Gladiator standing on a large construction, atop which was a target. Players could try firing increasingly silly missiles at the target for 10 points, or just get around the course without being hit for a consolation 5.
• Swingshot: In this bungee-fest, contestants had to grab yellow (1 point), blue (2 points) or red (3 points) balls from a central column then bounce back and put them in their scoring baskets. Glads would time their jumps so as to block the contestants movements.
• Hang Tough: Contenders aim to swing across a grid of rings from one side to the other. Nine times out of ten, the Gladiator who starts from the other side of the grid catches up with them mid-way and pulls them off the rings.
• Duel: Contender and Glad attempt to knock each other off elevated platforms with giant padded boffing sticks. Most women's duels are thirty-second defensive affairs with much thud and blunder and not a great deal of subtlety, but a men's duel is a thing of great cunning and beauty, the end appearing at any moment within the half minute.
• Eliminator
• First appearances of: Atlaspheres, The Wall, Danger Zone, Swingshot, Hang Tough, Duel, Eliminator

The first series began in late October 1992 airing 9 episodes. The original format of the series was the top 4 contenders in the 6 qualifying heats will go through to the semi-finals. The series only had 6 events to begin with before having to add new events in the later series.

Wembley Live Shows (1993)

Gladiator team (15 Gladiators)

• Women: Flame, Jet, Lightning, Panther, Phoenix, Scorpio and Zodiac
• Men: Bullit, Cobra, Hawk, Saracen, Shadow, Trojan, Warrior and Wolf
• First appearances of: Bullit, Trojan and Zodiac
• Last appearances of: Bullit, Flame, Hawk and Phoenix

The first set of Wembley live shows saw the roadtesting of both new Gladiators and new events. Some of the contenders from the live shows made it onto the televised shows. Tilt, Suspension Bridge and Joust were all road tested and carried forward onto the next series (albeit with slight modifications).

Series 2 (1993)

Gladiator Team (14 Gladiators)

• Women: Falcon, Hunter, Jet, Lightning, Nightshade, Panther, Scorpio and Zodiac
• Men: Cobra, Hunter, Saracen, Shadow, Trojan, Warrior and Wolf
• First appearances of: Falcon, Hunter and Nightshade

This series saw a big change to the 1992 series in that there were new events, new Gladiators and an extended run of shows into what became the norm of 8 heats, 4 quarter finals, 2 semi finals and the grand final. This series also had a celebrity special in which presenter John Fashanu took part and ultimately won.

Wembley live shows (1994)

Gladiator team (14 Gladiators)

• Women: Falcon, Jet, Lightning, Nightshade, Panther, Scorpio and Zodiac
• Men: Corba, Hunter, Saracen, Shadow, Trojan, Warrior and Wolf

Although no new Gladiators were roadtested in these competitions, there was one new event tried out, Cannonball run, which went on to appear in the televised shows albeit under the name Hit & Run. Some of the contenders from these shows went on to be in the televised shows.

Series 3 (1994)

Gladiator team:

International Gladiators 1 (1994)

• Cobra
• Falcon
• Hunter
• Jet
• Lightning
• Nightshade
• Saracen
• Scorpio
• Shadow
• Trojan
• Warrior
• Wolf
• Zodiac

(14 Gladiators)

Sheffield live shows (1995)

Gladiator team:

Series 4 (1995)

• Amazon
• Cobra
• Falcon
• Hunter
• Jet
• Lightning
• Nightshade
• Panther
• Raider
• Rhino
• Saracen
• Trojan
• Vogue
• Warrior
• Wolf
• Zodiac

(16 Gladiators)

The Ashes 1 (1995)

• Hunter
• Jet
• Lightning
• Nightshade
• Rhino
• Vogue
• Warrior
• Wolf

(8 Gladiators)

International Gladiators 2 (1995)

• Cobra
• Falcon
• Hunter
• Jet
• Lightning
• Panther
• Raider
• Rhino
• Trojan
• Vogue
• Warrior
• Wolf
• Zodiac

(12 Gladiators)

Wembley Live Shows (1996)

Gladiator team:

Series 5 (1996)

Gladiator team:

The Ashes 2 (1996)

• Ace
• Hunter
• Laser
• Lightning
• Rhino
• Rio
• Saracen
• Vogue
• Wolf

(9 Gladiators)

Royal Tournament 1 (1997)

• Hunter
• Rhino
• Warrior
• Wolf

(4 Gladiators)

Series 6 (1997)

• Ace
• Cobra
• Falcon
• Fox
• Gold
• Hunter
• Khan
• Lightning
• Rebel
• Rhino
• Rio
• Rocket
• Saracen
• Siren
• Vogue
• Warrior
• Wolf

(17 Gladiators)

Springbok Challenge 1 (1997)

• Ace
• Hunter
• Lightning
• Rebel
• Rhino
• Rio
• Saracen
• Vogue
• Wolf

(9 Gladiators)

Royal Tournament 2 (1998)

• Fox
• Hunter
• Khan
• Rocket

(4 Gladiators)

Series 7 (1998)

• Ace
• Cobra
• Diesel
• Falcon
• Fox
• Hunter
• Lightning
• Rebel
• Rhino
• Rio
• Saracen
• Siren
• Vogue
• Vulcan
• Wolf

(15 Gladiators)

Series 8 (1999)

• Ace
• Cobra
• Diesel
• Falcon
• Fox
• Hunter
• Lightning
• Rebel
• Rhino
• Rio
• Saracen
• Siren
• Vogue
• Vulcan
• Wolf

(15 Gladiators)

Springbok Challenge 2 (2000)

• Ace
• Cobra
• Fox
• Gold
• Hunter
• Rhino
• Rio
• Saracen
• Siren
• Vogue

(10 Gladiators)

The Gladiators

• Ace – Warren Furman (1996–2000)
• Amazon – Sharron Davies (1995–1996)
• Blaze – Eunice Huthart (1995) (also competed as a contender 1994–1995 and was the Team Coach in 1996)
• Bullit – Mike Harvey (1993)
• Cobra – Michael Willson (1992–2000)
• Diesel – Darren Crawford (1998–1999)
• Falcon – Bernadette Hunt (1993–1999)
• Flame – Kimbra Standish (1992–1993)
• Fox – Tammy Marie Baker (1997–2000) (South African Gladiators – 2001)
• Gold – Lize Van Der Walt (1997–2000)
• Hawk – Aleks Georgijev (1992–1993)
• Hunter – James Crossley (1993–2000)
• Jet – Diane Youdale Mayhew (1992–1996)
• Khan – Radosav Nekic (1997–1998)
• Laser – Tina Andrew (1996) (South African Gladiators – 1997)
• Lightning – Kim Betts (1992–1999)
• Nightshade – Judy Simpson (1993–1996)
• Panther – Helen O'Reilly (1992–1996)
• Phoenix – Sandy Young (1992–1993)
• Raider – Carlton Headley (1995)
• Rebel – Jennifer Stoute (1996–1999)
• Rhino – Mark Smith (1995–2000)
• Rio – Jane Omorogbe (1996–2000)
• Rocket – Pauline Richars (1997–1998)
• Saracen – Mike Lewis (1992–2000)
• Scorpio – Nikki Diamond (1992–1994)
• Shadow – Jefferson King (1992–1994)
• Siren – Alison Paton (1997–2000)
• Trojan – Mark Griffin (1993–1996)
• Vogue – Suzanne Cox (1995–2000)
• Vulcan – John Seru (1998–1999) (Australian Gladiators 1995–1996)
• Warrior – Michael Ahearne (1992–1997)
• Wolf – Michael Van Wijk (1992–1999)
• Zodiac – Kate Staples (1993–1996)

Controversies & Gladiators

Despite remaining a successful programme, particularly in its early years, Gladiators was not without controversy. One of the earliest criticisms to emerge was that the show seemed to glamorise the use of steroids and body-building, leading several tabloid newspapers to take a keener interest in the Gladiator's personal lives. In 1994, Jefferson King (Shadow) was caught snorting cocaine in a nightclub, and later admitted on daytime TV to using a large amount of steroids during training. He was subsequently fired from the show, due to producer Nigel Lythgoe's belief that he was an unsuitable role-model for children. Another controversy occurred in 1996 when John Fashanu was sacked as co-host of the show, allegedly because of Premiership football match-fixing. The tabloids also focused on the relationship between Gladiator Hunter (James Crossley) and presenter Ulrika Jonsson; the pair initially denied the affair, but later Jonsson admitted it in her 2003 biography. More controversy followed as Warrior, the biggest of the Gladiators, was involved in gun scandals. He was found in possession of a firearm and was charged.

Injuries

Only four of the original Gladiators lineup remained by the time the show finished in early 2000: Cobra, Wolf, Lightning and Saracen. Several of the Gladiators were forced to retire due to personal circumstances and/or injuries. The most notable of these was Gladiator Panther, who sustained a neck injury after falling awkwardly on the game Tilt in 1994. Judy Simpson-Cook who played Nightshade contracted Epstein-Barr syndrome and left in 1996, as did Jet, who sustained a damaged hip after a tackle on the game Pyramid. She later pursued a brief career as a television presenter.

The role of 'The Wolfman'

Arguably the most famous Gladiator, as well as a hugely popular children's TV star, was Wolf (aka Michael Van Wijk), who remained in the show for its entire duration. The most outspoken and rebellious Gladiator, Wolf did everything to break the rules from fighting with contestants, arguing with the referee, pulling off contestant's trousers and bullying the presenters. Much of this was seen as a type of comedy/pantomime performance, yet he remained hugely popular with the show's younger fans, appearing in nearly every show aired. John Fashanu later commented that his popularity in the early seasons was so big, that if he didn't come out at least once during a show, some parents would ask for their money back, as children would have felt cheated. Wolf's villain role was later undermined by the introduction of Australian Gladiator Vulcan, who clashed with Wolf on several occasions. American Gladiators fans who have watched Wolf see him as the British equivalent to the American Gladiator Danny Lee 'Nitro' Clark.

The show's demise

Later seasons of Gladiators began to drop in terms of ratings, leading to the show to be axed at the beginning of 2000. The decline in ratings has been put down to two possible causes: firstly, that the show had become tiresome and repetitive, with the same games and Gladiators, and secondly the rise of reality TV, which had started with the "docusoap" format in the late 1990s, meant that viewership was drawn towards other forms of "infotainment", rather than action gameshows.

Spin-off

In the late 1990's, when the popularity of the programme began to wane, a spin-off entitled Gladiators: Train To Win was produced and aired on CITV. 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").