Gladiators (1992 British TV series)

The series involves contestants battling against a 'Gladiator' in a number of events to secure points for the final event, The Eliminator. Typically, four contenders would appear in each episode, two male (Red and Blue) and two female (Pink and Yellow), and each contender would compete in five or six events, depending on the series or time constraints.

In each event, the contenders will score a number of points, usually ten for a win. Typically, both male and female contenders would compete in the same events; however, during series six, this format was removed, and female contenders would play easier games, whilst the male contenders 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 headstart in The Eliminator assault course with every point ahead of their competitor worth half a second. The winner of The Eliminator then goes on to compete in the next round.

A typical series contains fifteen episodes – eight heats, four quarter finals, two semi-finals and the grand final. Occasionally, a celebrity or charity special will be broadcast after the grand final. Mini series, such as the final season (series 8), would consist of 3 episodes: 2 heats and a grand final.

Despite being made by London Weekend Television, all episodes of Gladiators, International Gladiators, the second series of The Ashes and the first series of Springbok Challenge were recorded at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, whose ITV provider was Carlton Central. 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 6 events always in the same order; Atlaspheres, The Wall, Danger Zone, Swingshot, Hang Tough and Duel, the line-up changed from series to series, with new events being added every year and randomised. However 2 events never made it onto the televised show (Breakthrough & Conquer and Cyclotron). Over the years some were dropped due to safety reasons (Tilt, Joust, Pole-Axe and Pyramid) although the latter 2 returned with safety modifications and one just disappeared without any explanation despite being both popular with viewers and was not known to have caused any injuries (Pursuit).

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").

• During the first season 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 turned out that Bawden had greased her legs. 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 show's first home video release, Into the Arena, as Scorpio made a complaint. After reviewing the footage, referee John Anderson ruled that while 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 trick. 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 sacked from the show, having received the lowest number of votes from fans in a magazine poll. Series show runner 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 season in 1994, Panther (Helen O'Reilly) suffered one of the worst injuries seen the show when she fell from her platform during Tilt and severely injured her back. She returned to the show later in the season and remained with the show for a further two years before retiring permanently.
• After the third season in 1994, a newspaper uncovered evidence that Shadow (Jefferson King) had taken steroids. King later confirmed the rumours were true and was sacked shortly afterwards.
• Season five became known as the "season of injury". 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 season 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 season). 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 2, both on Danger Zone, due to an injury on Pole Axe during training. She retired permanently the following year. Nightshade (Judy Simpson) made only sparse outings during the season 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 final appearance came when beaten on her specialty event Duel, her only defeat 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.[3]
• After the sixth season in 1997, Warrior (Michael Ahearne) was sacked from the show, after being arrested for a firearms offence. Despite many questions at the time about his departure, the real reason was only revealed six months later in a newspaper article.
• Although played in a friendly manner, 'Wolf' would often be portrayed by Michael Van Wijk as a 'bad boy' who would argue with officials and contestants after a defeat to fire up the crowd in the style of a heel.[4]

Season seven (1998) saw the show have an overhaul; two new male Gladiators joined the team, Diesel and Vulcan. Vulcan was the "bad boy" of the Australian version of the show. He 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. 3 new games were introduced. Catapult, Dogfight and Vertigo. This was the most new events introduced in a single season since 1994. However all 3 did not go down well with viewers. As well as the 3 new games, 3 established events (Powerball, Pendulum and Gauntlet) had rule changes.

Another change was the Gladiators' costumes; the "logos" (Bow for Hunter, Playing Cards for Ace etc.) were removed and a standardised outfit was brought in. Red for females and blue for males. The actual "cut" of each gladiator costume remained the same from the previous season. The basic design was part of the word "Gladiators" written in black on each outfit.

Despite the changes, viewing figures continued to drop and the series was axed on 11 February 1999. However, ITV agreed to film another 4 episodes. These episodes were filmed in summer 1999 at the National Indoor Arena, Birmingham. Consisting of a 3-part mini-series which saw previous winners compete to be crowned "Champion of Champions" 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). These 3 episodes attracted good ratings for the time slot with the series making it into a new millennium, finally bowing out on New Year's Day 2000.

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

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

The first wave 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 wave 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 wave 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 plates to clocks were released. Two CD and Audio Tape compilations were released during the early years of the show, containing tracks such as Holding Out for a Hero, We Are Family & The Boys Are Back in Town, as well as the instrumental music used during events.

During the show's first four series, a number of VHSes were released by Video Collection International (The last VHS release was instead released by Silver Vision.). These contained episodes, specials or other material exclusive for home release. Many quickly sold out and are rare. The following VHS releases are available:

• GL001 – Into the Arena – Contains Heats 1 and 2 from Series 1 (1992)[12]
• GL002 – Powerplay – Contains Heats 3 and 4 from Series 1 (1992)[13]
• GL003 – The Conflict – Contains Heats 5 and 6 from Series 1 (1992)[14]
• GL004 – Countdown – Contains Semi-finals 1 and 2 from Series 1 (1992)[15]
• GL005 – The Ultimate Challenge – Contains the Grand Final from Series 1 (1992)[16]
• GL006 – The Very Best of Gladiators – Contains the special episode "The Challenge of the Gladiators" (1993)[17]
• GL007 – Gladiators Return – Contains the special episode "Return of the Gladiators" (1993)[18]
• GL008 – Contenders Ready, Gladiators Ready – Contains Heats 1 and 2 from Series 2 (1993)[19]
• GL009 – Arena Attack – Contains Heats 3, 4 and 5 from Series 2 (1993)[20]
• GL010 – Battleground – Contains Heats 6, 7 and 8 from Series 2 (1993)[21]
• GL011 – Combat – Contains Quarter Finals 1–4 from Series 2 (1993)[22]
• 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)[23]
• 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)[24]
• GL014 – The Gladiators Challenge '94–'95 – Contains the special episodes "The Return", "The Celebrity Challenge" and "The Fighting Forces Challenge" (1994)[25]
• GL015 – International Gladiators: The Showdown – Contains Semi Finals 1 and 2 plus the Grand Final from International Gladiators I (1994)[26]
• GL016 – The Power To Win – Contains the special episode "The Power To Win" (1995)[27]
• SV001 – Jet: A Video Profile – Contains the special episode "Jet: A Video Profile" (1995)[28]

• Gladiators at IMDb
• Gladiators at BFI
• International Gladiators at BFI
• Gladiators – The Ashes at BFI
• Gladiators at UKGameshows.com