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Gladiators - it was alright wasn't it?


IANdrewDiceClay

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I've been sorting out a load of shite old videos tonight and I came across (literally in the case of Jet) a episode of Gladiators with "DONT TAPE OVER" on it, which I taped years ago when I was just a kid. Watching it, just reminded me how big the show was. Was anyone into this show as much as I was? It debuted in about 92/93, so it might have piggy backed on the WWF fad that was going on over here at the time. WWF seemed to die out in about 93, and Gladiators became massive. There were some cracking characters on it. Wolf was always a laugh. Shadow was the Goldberg of the duel round. You had Ulrika and Fash, and a bunch of dopey jacked up perm headed Glads. And of course:

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You couldnt get moved for the shit in the town as well. There was figures, annuals, videos and all the stuff that the WWF had hoped on in the early 90s when that hit big. When we were in Junior school, we'd play on the big blue gym apparatus and pick our favourites. Since there was no fat Gladiators with basin haircuts, I had to use my imagination somewhat. They brought it back as well, but it was shite. It gave us Magnus and Mason Ryan though.

 

 

Oh, and a funny thing happened years ago as well: when doing panto, during the height of the shows popularity, Shadow bought a fridge from my brothers work in Sunderland and asked if they could deliver it to his house in the South somewhere (I forget the location). Even as a kid, I wondered why he was so desperate to buy a fridge at the other end of the country.

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Jet :love: she came to my school once when i was 6/7, said she loved my hair, and thats probably why no woman will ever compare...I was obsessed, it WAS Saturday night when you were a kid wasn't it? A simpler time when you weren't getting ready to go out and get pissed, you were more than happy to sit down on the floor too close to the TV and watch Gladiators. Immense.I'm pretty sure thinking back I had a VHS of Gladitors Best Of or something, it had behind the scenes footage on it, and it had them picking the contestants, and the contestants then doing obstacles courses and proving thier fitness. Was brilliant.

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I used to love the foam hands they gave to the audience for some reason, was so happy when I got one for Christmas one year. I must have caught the end of it, I remember watching it in 95/96 when I'll have been six/seven/eight, it was one of those real saturday night family shows which don't really exist anymore.

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Gladiators was ace, probably my favourite TV show when I was a kid. It definitely piggy-backed off the popularity of the WWF at the time, although I never thought of it that way when I was a kid. It was just tremendous Saturday evening family entertainment. It did have a real big-time feel and the production was excellent.The recent attempt to revive it was alright, but paled in comparison.

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Zodiac came to my School! We all would have preferred Jet. I thought Shadow was awesome when I was a kid. Who was the black chap they replaced him with? Rhino? He didn't have the same intense death stare.

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Funny, I was just wondering the other day what happened to Shadow. Turns out, he was a full-on crackhead, until a few years ago. Here's a video of him talking about it.

 

http://www.inexcess.tv/?p=10480

 

I'd love to find recent pics of all the Gladiators, being, as we know from wrestling, nobody ages worse than a hugely puffed up muscle guy. Christ knows what Warrior looks like these days.

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Here's a bit of info on what they were doing as recent as 2008. Jet still looks great. She's only in her early 40s as well.

Gladiators: Whatever happened to the Nineties stars?By Sarah Arnold And Deborah Sherwood, sundaymirror.co.uk 27/04/2008GladiatorsGladiators (SM)Contenders r-r-r-ready! Gladiators r-r-r-ready!It's time to pull on those clingy leotards and stock up on protein shakes as Gladiators returns to our screens next month.The original show, presented by Ulrika Jonsson and John Fashanu, drew audiences of 14 million from 1992 to 2000 when Hunter, Saracen and Lightning were household names. Those three are already lined up for a Gladiators: The Legends special, where they take on the brand-new Gladiators.The originals thrilled fans in games like Duel (fighting on podiums with sticks like huge cotton buds).But what happened to them once they went bald or grey or all that muscle turned to flab? Today we reveal how the Gladiators fared in the arena of real life...1 WARRIORREAL NAME: MIKE AHEARNEThese days Mike runs a gym near his home in a sleepy Merseyside village.The 47-year-old muscleman - who was jailed in 1998 for 15 months for paying a policeman to nobble a jury - last night said he'd like nothing better than to go back on the show that made him famous.From his luxury ground floor flat, greying Mike said: "Of course I'd go back tomorrow if they asked - but it might have to be in a zimmer frame! They were the halcyon days."2 RAIDERREAL NAME: CARLTON HEADLEYCarlton, 44, a former Tai Kwon Do champion and heavyweight boxer was a youth worker in inner-city London before the original show. He still lives in the capital but shuns the limelight.A pal revealed: "He doesn't want to talk about those days or what he does now ..that's his privilege."3 HUNTERREAL NAME: JAMES CROSSLEYBest known for his fling with presenter Ulrika, James, 34, is now a property developer and lives in Fulham, West London. His long curly blond locks are gone and he is now almost bald."I've not been in training for a while, but all the work around my properties keeps me in shape," he said. "A few of us are in talks about Gladiators - The Legends but the details need to be sorted. I'll be on the new show as a pundit."4 SARACENREAL NAME: MIKE LEWISMike still works as a London fireman - a career he juggled with Gladiators. Modest about the dangers of his job, 44-year-old Mike says: "Accidents happen but you can't let your mind dwell on that or you wouldn't be able to do the job."5 TROJANREAL NAME: MARK GRIFFINMark has a built up a career playing bad guys on American TV. He lives in the States with his wife Heidi.Now 40, he has a daughter Ella with former Gladiator Zodiac, and is hoping to be involved in the new show -but nothing has been confirmed yet."I still wear my leotard every day, mate," he says with a big grin."No, the truth is that it's in storage somewhere."6 FALCONREAL NAME: BERNADETTE HUNTSpiky-HAIRED Bernadette, 44, returned to teaching aerobics in a Basingstoke school hall when she left the show. She moved to Hampshire with partner Mark Richardson and son Adam, 23. She says:"I did start to feel like I was getting a bit too old for all the rough and tumble. It was nice to do something a little more relaxed."7 RHINOREAL NAME: MARK SMITHBeefy Mark has a passion for shoes - he owns more than 120 pairs bought with earnings from his acting career and property investments around the world. "I do have a thing for trainers and shoes," he confesses.Mark, 38 - who was also linked to presenter Ulrika - now has a wife Simone, daughter Chloe, 11, and son Brodie, four. He admits that even in play-fights with Chloe, "I'm determined to win."8 COBRAREAL NAME: MICHAEL WILLSONKnown for his trademark eye-watering splits he was the main joker in the pack, Michael, 44, now enjoys painting watercolours. A family member says: "He's living in Thailand with his family."9 WOLFAdvertisement - article continues below

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