When was gladiators first on tv

Panther Helen O'Reilly. Panther Kara Nwidobie-Sharpe. Phoenix Sandy Young. Predator Du'aine Ladejo. Raider Carlton Headley. Rebel Jennifer Stoute. Rhino Mark Smith. Rio Jane Omorogbe. Rocket Pauline Richards. Saracen Michael Lewis. Scorpio Nikki Diamond. Shadow Jefferson King.

Siren Ali Paton. Siren Amy Guy. Spartan Roderick Bradley. The contestants were regular people who went up against the aforementioned trained and professional athletes, who weren't known for being soft-hearted. As a result, the Contenders were often the underdogs, which added to the stakes- and to the popularity.

It also allowed for new events to come and go over the years, ensuring less predictability. One thing the UK version amped up was the theatrics, making it more like a drama or soap opera; as a result there were quite a few Professional Wrestling tropes present, but this was usually kept subtle, in order to ensure that viewers would continue to take it seriously.

This allowed the show to be framed as a serious sporting event, helped by Saturdays being the UK's traditional sports day each week. The show was revived in May probably to due to nostalgia on Sky1 , where an all-new team of Gladiators took on a new group of Contenders. It was based on NBC 's American Gladiators revival, which was based on the original British version, which was based on the original syndicated American Gladiators. Got that? The show brought back some classic events, replaced crash mats with water tanks, and included its own version of the Eliminator complete with Travelator.

It also hosted some Legends Specials, pitting the old Gladiators against the new Gladiators, which also saw the return of fan-favourite Wolf. Browse episodes.

Top Top-rated. Photos Top cast Edit. Kim Betts Lightning as Lightning …. Michael Van Wijk Wolf as Wolf …. Michael Willson Cobra as Cobra …. James Crossley Hunter as Hunter …. Bernadette Hunt Falcon as Falcon …. Michael Lewis Saracen as Saracen.

Michael Ahearne Warrior as Warrior …. Helen O'Reilly Panther as Panther …. Suzanne Cox Vogue as Vogue …. Mark Griffin Trojan as Trojan …. Katherine Staples Zodiac as Zodiac …. Mark Rhino Smith Rhino as Rhino …. Judy Simpson Nightshade as Nightshade. Diane Youdale Mayhew Jet as Jet …. More like this. Gladiators Nightshade, Jet, Amazon and Zodiac all quit the show following serious injury, either during training or on the show itself.

Panther suffered one of the most shocking injuries during a game of "Tilt" in series 3, She returned to the show the following series and remained with the show for a further two years before retiring permanently. Contender Nicola Bawden caused controversy following the very first game of the Wall after she slipped away from Scorpio. Scorpio had managed to get hold of her, but she slipped off moments later and dropped to the floor. It turned out that Bawden had greased her legs so Scorpio could not get a firm grip of her.

It also turned out that Bawden had undone her laces so that Scorpio could not hold onto her trainers. Although this wasn't explored on the actual programme, the incident was given mention on the first video release Into the Arena as Scorpio did indeed make a complaint. John Anderson, after reviewing the footage, ruled that while Bawden did indeed 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 ruled that Bawden greasing her legs to escape Scorpio was not keeping in the spirit of the programme and new rules were immediately put in place to prevent her or any other contestants from trying the same trick.

Scorpio was shown to be unhappy about this as she considered Bawden to have cheated but when she advanced to the semi-finals, Scorpio was given a second chance to chase her up The Wall. This time, she was successful in wrenching Bawden off The Wall. John Anderson has been the head official for all nine series including the revival. Before every event he called: "Contender ready! Gladiator ready! During celebrity specials Anderson took a more light-hearted attitude to the show such as adapting his call to "Little contender ready!