American Gladiators is an American competition TV show that aired on NBC and Citytv in Canada. These shows were used to roadtest new event concepts and new Gladiators. Referee: John Anderson Venue: Wembley Arena, London, England Falco John Shrapnel. Laser was brought in as a replacement and even used the same costume but with minor changes. Sumo Ball was roadtested in these shows and would feature as the only new event of the 1996 televised series. Venue: Wembley Arena, London, England Sam Codjoe reached the series 3 final. Gladiators is a British television series which aired on Sky1 from 11 May 2008 to 25 October 2009. These consisted of a revised version of Hunter, and figures of Hawk (United States), Terminator (Finland) and Dynamite (Russia). I had a peculiar relationship with Lightning. Male Gladiators: Ace, Cobra, Hunter, Rhino, Saracen, Trojan, Warrior, Wolf It's the first episode of the new series and hosts Ulrika Jonsson and John Fashanu introduce the female and male contenders. A final wave of figures were released for the first International Gladiators series. [7], Unlike the other live shows, these shows took place in Sheffield Arena which was smaller than Wembley Arena. The big man himself! The role was predominately filled by Andrew Norgate, who was also an associate producer, from the second series on 18 September 1993 to the eighth series on 1 January 2000. This led to the event being dropped for the upcoming season five. He was brought in to be a rival for Wolf. After stunning producers in training, he was offered a role on the main Gladiator team. Wolf was THE star of the show and often wound up referees and contestants alike. similar to his American counterpart, Larry Thompson, but he added a countdown, "Three! Season five became known as the "season of injury". 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". Most of the events tested the contenders' physical abilities against the superior size and strength of the Gladiators, who were mostly pro or amate… Cobra suffered an ankle injury during the shows and had to be sidelined. Only one new event was roadtested in this series, Cannonball Run, which was later used in the 1994 televised series under the name Hit & Run. Meet Ulrika, Fash, John Anderson, Ian Wright, Caroline Flack and the rest of the cast. Male Gladiators: Bullit, Cobra, Hawk, Saracen, Shadow, Trojan, Warrior, Wolf Joust was also roadtested in this series with pugil sticks being used but the sybikes were much larger and lower to the ground than the events ultimate appearance in the televised series. Presenters: John Fashanu and Ulrika Jonsson Caroline Flack. Male Gladiators: Cobra, Hunter, Saracen, Shadow, Trojan, Warrior, Wolf Gladiator ready!. " Both Cobra and Lightning were never originally intended to be Gladiators. This was the most new events introduced in a single season since 1994. 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. Lightning. Awooga! B823 was due to include a Hawk Action figure, but due to his departure from the show, a figure was never released. Andrew Norgate. A group of cheerleaders also accompanied the show, known as the "G-Force". when Willie Carson took part. Despite having no hosting experience, footballer John Fashanu was given the role of male host of the series. Referee: John Anderson Footage of several of the tests were broadcast during behind-the-scenes segments during both the first and second series. 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. Jet would suffer an injury during Pyramid in which she fell awkwardly trapping nerves in her neck[11] and she retired from competition after this event. 3 new games were introduced. [9], Venue: Wembley Arena, London, England Many quickly sold out and are rare. A second wave of playsets included The Wall (B827). It proved to be a big success for Sky 1 and a second series was aired in early 2009. Female Gladiators: Blaze, Falcon, Jet, Lightning, Nightshade, Panther, Vogue, Zodiac In 1997 and 1998 a short segment of Gladiators was introduced to the Royal Tournament event at Earls Court after London Weekend Television won the broadcasting rights from the BBC. Series show runner, 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. 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). before starting the game. Presenters: John Fashanu and Ulrika Jonsson In international Gladiators 2 and both Ashes competitions, he competed for Australia. Lucilla Oliver Reed. In the first show, the Gladiators, including bad-boy Wolf and glamour-puss Jet, were reunited in Birmingham at the venue where they gripped millions around the UK in the 90s. Timekeeper: Andrew Norgate Series 5 winner Mark Mottram went on to become a professional stuntman and was Pierce Brosnan's stunt double in the James Bond films. Season seven (1998) saw the show have an overhaul; two new male Gladiators joined the team, Diesel and Vulcan. Notably, many of the moulds for the Hornby series were shipped over to Australia, and reused for a range of Australian Gladiators figures.