~ TV HEAVEN ~

The Presenters - The Gladiators - The Contenders - The Events - Season By Season

Although the show originated in the US, it was noted that it was in the UK that the show was most popular - which was acknowledged when they put on International Gladiators, holding it in Birmingham, home of the UK Gladiators.

The show ran for eight seasons - finishing with a special champion of champions edition, and finally a Battle Of The Gladiators spectacular. 

The Presenters

Ulrika Jonsson	A former weathergirl, the Swedish Ulrika really shot to fame whilst presenting Gladiators.  During the run, she began a short lived romantic affair with Gladiator Hunter (James Crossley)
John Fashanu	When Gladiators began in '92, it was Fashanu who was the known name, but over the years was slightly eclipsed.  When the show did it's first celebrity show it was John who won it.  He later missed a series due to court appearances (connected to his career as a footballer) but later returned for the final series.
Jeremy Guscott	A rugby player, Jeremy was already used to presenting, as he had previously co presented Body Heat.  Jeremy stood in as presenter while John Fashanu was away.
John Sachs	Commentator for the entire run, John Sachs (son of Andrew, Manuel from Fawlty Towers) really gave life to the action.  He made appearances alongside Wolf and Dangerous Brian on The Brian Connolly Show.
John Anderson	Not so much of a presenter really... he was the shows referee for the run, and as such had many run ins with bad boy Wolf - becoming a personality himself.

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The Gladiators

Ace	Ace joined the show in '96, the show's fifth season.  Never really becoming a 'personality', he did prove to be a great Gladiator.... and in the final show, when the male Gladiators took on each each other... he came second.
Amazon	Amazon was better known as swimmer Sharon Davies, and this became a problem.  Although a competent Gladiator - almost as big as the men - personality clashes occurred and she allegedly separated herself from the others.  After an injury on the show.... she didn't return.
Bullet	Never seen on the TV show, only taking part in the live Wembley Shows.  He was replaced by Hunter for the second TV series.
Cobra	Originally 'Snake hips' applied as a contender, but producers made him a fully fledged Gladiator.  One of the smaller Gladiators, he was also one of the faster - specialising in Hangtough.
Diesel	Diesel didn't become a Gladiator until the '98 season and didn't return for the final series, only on the Battle Of The Gladiators when he took part in Powerball.
Falcon	Joining in the second series ('93), Falcon was a sturdy Gladiator who did well in such events as Powerball and Duel.
Flame	One of the original Gladiators, Flame was fired before the second series.
Fox	One of the later Gladiators to join... proving to be another sturdy Gladiator.
Gold	Only turned up for the '97 series.
Hawk	Like Flame, an original Gladiator sacked before the second series.
Hunter	Joining the show for it's second series, Hunter soon became a fan favourite, eventually proving himself to be the best Gladiator. Only 19 years old in his first season ('93), he was also one of the biggest.  He hit the headlines when he began a relationship with show presenter Ulrika.  In the final show - The Battle Of The Gladiators  - where the male Glads took on each other -he beat away the competition and won.
Jet	Easily one of the most recognisable Gladiators, even to the extent of being know as Diane Youdale - her real name.  At the time she was every schoolboys dream Gladiator - she was even good at it! One of the originals, she left after the fourth series.
Khan	South African - Khan only appeared in the '97 season.
Laser	Another South African, Laser appeared during '96 as a stand in whilst a couple of Gladiators were absent with injuries.
Lightning	Like Cobra, Lightning also applied as a contender but was so impressive she HAD to become a Gladiator.  A fan favourite from the beginning, she went from strength to strength.
Nightshade	A know athlete before the show, Nightshade was awesome on such events as Duel and Powerball.  She joined in the second series and left after the '95 season
Panther	An original Gladiator, Panther was one of the older ones - but just as fit.  She left in '97.
Phoenix	The third of the original line-up to be axed before the second season.
Raider	Joined in '95 but was onto a loser when he became the first Gladiator to be suspended from the show for breaking rules - being given the red card.  He didn't return for a second series.
Rebel	Very loud but very good... Rebel joined in '96 and remain until the end. Like Nightshade she was an athlete before the show.
Rhino	Although one of the smallest Gladiators, Rhino was also one of the widest - he was sheer bulk.  He was fantastic on the power events... and was impenetrable in Gauntlet.
Rio	Joining in '96, Rio was easily one of the best Gladiators, specialising at Duel.
Rocket	Another Gladiator only to last a couple of seasons, Rocket was quite impressive during the '97 & '98 seasons.
Saracen	One of the originals... and one of the best.  Known for being a fireman in real life, he was easily a favourite in everyone's eyes.  Although not too impressive during the first season, he bulked up for the second and everyone agreed - 'there's only one Saracen!'.
Scorpio	Lasting only three series, Scorpio was a tough nut to crack, but an injury stopped her play.
Shadow	THE most famous Gladiator... and not only for his actions in the arena.  During the first seasons he was was the most formidable Gladiator - unbeatable on Duel.  However, when the newspapers found out he had been taking steroids to improve his performance he was sacked.  He was later sued after using his Gladiator persona for wrestling.
Siren	The Scots woman appeared in the final three seasons of the show, and proved to be a force to be reckoned with, especially on Pendulum.
Trojan	Another one of the greats... Joining in the second series - his role as a Gladiator was ended when he become a Hollywood starlet - appearing in the TV series Action Man.  Personal life gave him bad press however.  Having started up a relationship with Zodiac, when she fell pregnant he didn't want to know (allegedly).
Vogue	Like Jet, has managed to become her own person - Suzanne Cox.  She joined in the '95 season, and proved to be a great challenge for contenders.
Vulcan	Originally one of the Australian Gladiators - he was their villain - when the show ended he came over to the UK... and became part of the bad boy double act with Wolf.
Warrior	The biggest of the Gladiators, Warrior suffered a severe knee injury during the first season but bounced back.  Again the private life kicked in though and prison (tax fraud - I think - don't quote me) beckoned.
Wolf	Okay, so Shadow wasn't THE most famous... that title belonged (and still does) to The Big Bad Wolf.  He was old when it started... baldness was happening... and he made a lot of mistakes.... but every now and then... he was actually quite good.
Zodiac	A great Gladiator, joining in the second series.  An injury - followed by a pregnancy (RE: Trojan) ended her Gladiator career.

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The Contenders

Weininger Irwin	The first winner of Gladiators back '92.  Never heard from again, but will always be remember... he was even in the first show.
Eunice Huthart	The most famous contender... not only becoming the winner for the '94 season but also the International Gladiators series.  She almost even became a Gladiator herself - called Blaze - but eventually turned it down... she is now a stunt woman, having been in such films as Goldeneye.
Phil Norman	Winner of  Gladiators 1993 - the second season, Phil Norman was a martial arts expert and everyone knew that he'd be the winner.  He returned time and time again, to varying success.
Mark Everett & Paul Feilds	There is no real reason why I've included these, except that they have stuck in my mind for some reason.  Both admiral winners of their seasons... and both taking part in the International series.

The Events

Atlaspheres	One of the first events in the series, Atlaspheres saw contenders and two Gladiators battle it out in giant spheres, known as 'cheese graters'.  A gladiator would take a contender and try to stop them in their quest - to place their atlasphere directly on the centre of a pod (releasing gas to indicate a score) for 3 points each pod.
Breakthrough & Conquer	This games never made it the TV Series - it was only used for the live shows.  The game was split into two - the first part would have the contender trying to run past the Gladiator before the Gladiator had the chance to bring them down. The second part had the contender wrestle the Gladiator in a small ring, in an attempt to push the Gladiator out.
Catapult	This game saw the contenders suspended on elastic whilst trying to throw balls into the target contains - but with two Gladiators trying to block them.
Dangerzone	A contender would have 60 seconds to get light up the Gladiator's pad.  Problem?  The Gladiator would be shooting at them, whilst on a podium.  The contender would have four different kinds of firing weapon (placed at intervals on the arena floor).  The contender would get 10 points if they shot the target, 5 points if they touched a lower target, or 1 point for each weapon fired in the time.  Naturally they would be disqualified if they got shot themselves. One of the original games.
Dogfight	A Contender and Gladiator suspended in the air on what seemed to be two airships - that were constantly moving.  wielding a half-pugil stick the aim would be to hit the target on the opponents chest, causing them to be released to the ground below.
Duel	One of the original and best games on Gladiators.  A Gladiator and Contender would be positioned on a podium each armed with a pugil stick.  They would then begin 30 seconds of hammering each other into the ground.  10 points for knocking the Gladiator off, 5 points for staying up after the time has finished.
The Eliminator	The only event not to feature any Gladiators.  All the points amassed through the show's games would be worked out tog give the winning contender a head-start on the toughest of assault courses.  The winner would either get though to the next round or would be the champion of the series.
Gauntlet	Depending on which series, the Gauntlet was at it's best when the contender's had 30 seconds to get past 5 Gladiators (at first it was only 3).  Glads would be armed with either a ram-rod or  pads depending on where they were positioned.  Scoring differed from year to year.  One way was to be the fastest through, another was 2 point per Gladiator passed.
Hangtough	Another great original game.  50 rings (more?) suspended in the air, with the contender having 60 seconds to swing to the other side.  Easy - no!  There would be a Glad swinging straight at them trying to get them down. 10 pts to get across, 5 to 'hang tough' in the scoring zone.
Hit & Run	The contender would have to run back and forth across a suspension bridge while Gladiators (four of them)  threw big silver balls at them to knock them off. 2pts for each successful crossing.
Joust	Buckeroo!  A Gladiator and Contender would have 'joust' it out on two horse-like podiums.  Not a favourite (not to mention it looked dangerous).
Pendulum	A giant swinging pendulum situated above the arena would see a contender have 60 secs to chase a Gladiator, and hopefully snatch the flag on their back.
Pole-Ax	A Glad and contender would race up giant poles.  The first to the top would hit a button, causing the opponent to fall back down.
Powerball	A definite favourite, introduced in the second year.  In late years it would have two gladiators, but everyone preferred it when it had three.  Played on a giant matt, the contenders would have to get their coloured balls into one of the five pods.  2pts for an outer pod, 5pts (later 3) for the centre.  Not easy when you have a Gladiator rugby tackling you!
Pursuit	Two Glads would chase the contenders around an assault course.  Not only were the contenders trying not to get caught, but also racing each other.
Pyramid	Another game that changed over the years (due to somebody getting injured).  The contenders would try to make it to the top of the pyramid with two Glads trying to knock them down before they got to do so.
Skytrak	Suspended upside, a simple race between the contenders - trying not to get caught by the Gladiators.
Suspension Bridge	Similar to Duel, except with hammer-heads as weapons and a suspension bridge to cross.
Swingshot	One of the first - not a favourite of mine - where the contenders would swing on bungee cords to get balls into baskets, whilst being blocked by the Gladiators.  1pt for yellow, 2pts for blue, 3pts for red.
Sumo-Ball	Placed on a giant podium - the Gladiator and contender would be placed on opposite sides of a giant Sumo-Ball - and would trying to knock the opponent off.
Tightrope	A race between contender and Gladiator to get across a tightrope and then down a zipline, kicking a target that would cause the opponent to drop.
Tilt	A tug-o-war situated on to platforms that would tilt.  Not really used much due to many injuries.
Vertigo	Gladiator and contender would try to be the first to get across a series on bendy poles using momentum.
The Wall	A crowd favourite, one of the original games.  Contenders would race up a wall, whilst being chased (and upon being caught, pulled down) by Gladiators.
Whiplash	A tug-o-war on the ground, with the contender trying to pull the Gladiator out of the ring.

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Season By Season

Note: New Gladiators, presenters, events  (beyond the first season) are highlighted in blue. A final appearance will be highlight in red.  Should someone only appear for a single season he/she will be highlighted in purple.

1992 - Series I
Presenters - John Fashanu & Ulrika Johnsson (Narrated by John Sachs)
Male Gladiators - Cobra, Hawk, Saracen, Shadow, Warrior & Wolf
Female Gladiators - Flame, Jet, Lightning, Panther, Phoenix & Scorpio
Events - Atlaspheres, Dangerzone, Duel, Hangtough, Swingshot, The Wall & The Eliminator

1993 - Series II
Presenters - John Fashanu & Ulrika Johnsson (Narrated by John Sachs)
Male Gladiators - Cobra, Hunter, Saracen, Shadow, Trojan, Warrior & Wolf
Female Gladiators - Falcon, Jet, Lightning, Nightshade, Panther, Scorpio & Zodiac
Events - Atlaspheres, Dangerzone, Duel, Gauntlet, Hangtough, Joust, Powerball, Skytrak, Suspension Bridge, Swingshot, Tilt, The Wall & The Eliminator

1994 - Series III
Presenters - John Fashanu & Ulrika Johnsson (Narrated by John Sachs)
Male Gladiators - Cobra, Hunter, Saracen, Shadow, Trojan, Warrior & Wolf
Female Gladiators - Falcon, Jet, Lightning, Nightshade, Panther, Scorpio & Zodiac
Events - Atlaspheres, Dangerzone, Duel, Gauntlet, Hangtough, Hit & Run, Joust, Pole-ax, Powerball, Pursuit, Pyramid, Skytrak, Suspension Bridge, Swingshot, Tilt, The Wall & The Eliminator

1995 - Series IV
Presenters - John Fashanu & Ulrika Johnsson (Narrated by John Sachs)
Male Gladiators - Cobra, Hunter, Saracen, Raider, Rhino, Trojan, Warrior & Wolf
Female Gladiators - Amazon, Falcon, Jet, Lightning, Nightshade, Panther, Vogue & Zodiac
Events - Atlaspheres, Dangerzone, Duel, Gauntlet, Hangtough, Hit & Run, Joust, Pendulum, Pole-ax, Powerball, Pursuit, Pyramid, Skytrak, Suspension Bridge, Swingshot, The Wall, Whiplash & The Eliminator

1996 - Series V
Presenters - John Fashanu & Ulrika Johnsson (Narrated by John Sachs)
Male Gladiators - Ace, Cobra, Hunter, Saracen, Rhino, Trojan, Warrior & Wolf
Female Gladiators - Falcon, Laser, Lightning, Nightshade, Panther, Rebel, Rio, Vogue & Zodiac
Events - Atlaspheres, Dangerzone, Duel, Gauntlet, Hangtough, Hit & Run, Joust, Pendulum, Pole-ax, Powerball, Pursuit, Pyramid, Skytrak, Sumoball, Suspension Bridge, Swingshot, The Wall, Whiplash & The Eliminator

1997 - Series VI
Presenters - Ulrika Johnsson & Jeremy Guscott (Narrated by John Sachs)
Male Gladiators - Ace, Cobra, Hunter, Khan, Saracen, Rhino, Warrior & Wolf
Female Gladiators - Falcon, Fox, Gold, Lightning, Rebel, Rio, Rocket, Siren & Vogue
Events - Atlaspheres, Dangerzone, Dogfight, Duel, Gauntlet, Hangtough, Hit & Run, Joust, Pendulum, Pole-ax, Powerball, Pursuit, Pyramid, Skytrak, Sumoball, Suspension Bridge, Swingshot, Vertigo, The Wall, Whiplash & The Eliminator

1998 - Series VII
Presenters - Ulrika Johnsson & Jeremy Guscott (Narrated by John Sachs)
Male Gladiators - Ace, Cobra, Diesel, Hunter, Saracen, Rhino, Vulcan & Wolf
Female Gladiators - Falcon, Fox, Lightning, Rebel, Rio, Rocket, Siren & Vogue
Events - Atlaspheres, Catapult, Dangerzone, Dogfight, Duel, Gauntlet, Hangtough, Hit & Run, Joust, Pendulum, Pole-ax, Powerball, Pursuit, Pyramid, Skytrak, Sumoball, Suspension Bridge, Swingshot, Tightrope, Vertigo, The Wall, Whiplash & The Eliminator

1999 - Series VIII (The Final Showdown)
Presenters - Ulrika Johnsson & John Fashanhu (Narrated by John Sachs)
Male Gladiators - Ace, Cobra, Diesel, Hunter, Saracen, Rhino, Vulcan & Wolf
Female Gladiators - Falcon, Fox, Lightning, Rebel, Rio, Siren & Vogue
Events - Atlaspheres, Catapult, Dangerzone, Dogfight, Duel, Gauntlet, Hangtough, Hit & Run, Joust, Pendulum, Pole-ax, Powerball, Pursuit, Pyramid, Skytrak, Sumoball, Suspension Bridge, Swingshot, Tightrope, Vertigo, The Wall, Whiplash & The Eliminator

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images taken from www.gladiatorzone.com - I don't take any credit.