BRAINCHILD of Nineties TV, Gladiators thrilled audiences with daring stunts and chiselled abs for eight years.
The Gladiators became stars throughout their time on the show, battling contestants in a series of events, but with Gladiators set to return – where are the original stars now?
Where are the Gladiators cast now?
Gladiators ran for eight seasons and was presented by Ulrika Jonsson and John Fashanu.
The Gladiators themselves would be pitted against contestants who would compete in a variety of events such as the Hang Tough or the Duel.
Each episode would star two male and two female contenders against a gladiator of the same gender.
Its been 30 years since the show aired so where are some of its biggest stars now.
Lightning – Kim Betts
Kim Betts went by Lightning on the show
Kim Betts, better known as Lightning, was the only female Gladiator to stay for the whole course of the show.
She appeared in series one to eight and became a bodybuilder after the show ended.
Her athletic career started at age six when she was accepted into the Lichfield Olympic Gymnastic Club.
Lightning, born Christmas Day 1971, has built a loyal following on Instagram with 13.8k followers to which she shows off her still fit physique.
She appeared in the beloved ITV programme from 1992 until 2000 and was branded “one of the toughest and most determined”.
So determined is Kim that she gave birth to her boy Lexus three weeks before competing in the penultimate series of the show.
Kim, who is now a mum of two, now runs multiple businesses including a beauty parlour and fishery.
She also boasts 17 years of property developer experience and lives on a farm with her husband and children.
Cobra – Michael Wilson
Michael has left the showbiz world behind
Another long running cast member was former boxer Michael Wilson.
He took to the arena as Gladiator Cobra and stayed with the show from start to finish.
The original cast-member regularly showed off by doing the splits and kicking his legs up high in the air.
Michael’s time as Cobra was not easy, he shared that he would turn up drunk and nearly got fired from the show.
Since the programme was taken off air, Michael has avoided the spotlight, living in the West Midlands.
Born October 29, 1963, Michael now spends his time promoting how keeping fit can be fun.
In 2019, The Celeb Report revealed that Michael was seriously ill in a Kent hospital, suffering from pneumonia, pleurisy and a ruptured bicep.
He also suffered a rupture in his shoulder and couldn’t raise his arm, his current condition is not known.
That Christmas, Michael was admitted to hospital with severe acute pancreatitis – a cripplingly painful condition where your pancreas swells up – and needs two new hips.
He explained: “I’m only half a Gladiator now. It’s been touch and go. I don’t feel like I’m kicking the bucket at the minute, but it will only take another cold or cough and I’m in trouble.
“I’m isolated in my own ward. It goes to show – you never know what’s round the corner.”
Jet – Diane Youdale
Diane Youdale, aka Jet, revealed she suffered a bad injury to her nose while on Gladiators
Fan favourite Jet, real name Diane Youdale, was born on February 13, 1970 in Teesside, England.
She starred on the show from 1992 to 1996, joining at the age of 22.
Diane had trained as a choreographer before she became a Gladiator and release a single in 1994.
In 1996, she exited the show after suffering a 40ft fall in the Pole Axe stunt.
She revealed she crushed her nose in the accident, hitting the airbags.
“My knees literally went into my face and I broke my nose… I had heard the crack, and I could see my nose out of my left eye,” she told the Gladpod podcast.
Diane retired from Gladiators and went on to star on TV shows, present dance shows and later trained as a psychiatrist.
Ace – Warren Furman
Warren is now a dedicated Christian
Not much is known about Warren Furman before his Gladiator stint, only that he was born on July 3, 1972, in Doncaster.
Known as Ace on the show, he a starred from 1996 to 2000 and has opened up about his steroid abuse on the show.
In the late 90s he dated and got engaged to model Katie Price, while she was still going by her pseudonym Jordan.
These days he is a devoted Christian and evangelist, visiting schools and sharing his story and struggles.
In 2017, his co-star James Crossley claimed that finding God saved Warren’s life.
Speaking exclusively to The Celeb Report Online at The Guide Dog Awards, James said: “Ace is now a Christian, he’s turned to God.
“He had some quite horrific things happen in his life, really horrific, so it was either that or probably he wouldn’t be around now.”
Warren has previously opened up about finding Christianity and even pleaded with his ex-Katie to find faith.
Hunter – James Crossley
James ‘Hunter’ Crossley joined the show in series 2
Hunter was the youngest Gladiator to be recruited for the show, joining at the tender age of 19.
James Crossley joined the show in series two and continued until it’s end in 2000.
He hit the headlines after dating the show’s host Ulrika Jonsson, who was around 25 at the time, but the relationship was strongly denied until she finally came clean in her 2003 autobiography.
The bodybuilder appeared in the 2008 reboot of the show for the first legends special, pitting new gladiators against old ones.
He turned to stage acting too and toured in numerous theatre productions, including Sir Peter Hall’s As You Like It.
In May 2018, James broke the world record for lifting the Dinnie Stones in Aberdeenshire.
Most recently, the Gladiator appeared in The Circle, a reality show, catfishing as an NHS nurse named Gemma to mixed response from viewers.
Panther – Helen O’ Reilly
Panther suffered a major fall while on the show and had to leave temporarily
As a child Panther, also known as Helen O’Reilly, hated sports but this all changed at 27.
Helen, born October 14, 1961, began going to the gym and found she really enjoyed it, spurring herself on to enter bodybuilding competitions.
She has reigned as Miss Central Britain, Miss Europe, Miss North Britain, Miss England, Miss World, Miss Great Britain, Miss Russia and Miss Universe.
Panther sustained a serious neck and back injury after falling headfirst during the Tilt event in one of the show’s more shocking injuries.
She re-joined Gladiators after returning to the gym five months post-fall, competing in series five in 1996.
On leaving she continued to pursue her passion for fitness, setting up Panther’s Gym in Uxbridge with her husband.
Helen has largely shunned the spotlight since the cameras stopped rolling, only picking up one credit for the compilation programme When Gameshows Go Horribly Wrong.
Saracen – Mike Lewis
Mark ‘Rhino’ Smith has starred in a number of Hollywood movies
Mark was born in Acton, London, September 30, 1969 to Jamaican parents.
He has since moved to Los Angeles, starring in and producing films.
After four seasons of climbing, swinging, running and fighting in the Gladiator assault courses Rhino had gained sufficient attention to secure a number of small acting roles on some big-budget productions.
He has appeared in blockbusters such as Batman Begins, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Ben Affleck’s political thriller Argo.
As well as this, he has dabbled in voice work, acting as Office McHorn in the 2016 film Zootopia.
The dad-of-three, is often credited as ‘Rhino’ in his work and most recently appeared in episodes of Criminal Minds, NCIS and Agents of Shield.
Nightshade – Judy Simpson
Mike ‘Wolf’ Van Wijk is now a regular on the New Zealand cage fighting scene
Big bad wolf, Mike Van Wijk had an intimidating stare and was a professional bodybuilder.
He was born in Bombay, India on September 30, 1952, but Wolf has now moved to New Zealand to open a chain of gyms there.
Wolf also appears on the Kiwi cage fighting scene on occasion.
The Gladiator stayed for the entire eight seasons and is one of the most recognisable and popular of the cast.
Wolf returned to the 2008 Gladiator revamp where his standing ovation on entering the arena is said to have lasted five minutes, holding up the filming.
Amazon – Sharron Davies
Sharron is another Olympic star from the cast
Unlike many of her co-stars, Sharron isn’t most famous for her role in Gladiators, as she only appeared in one season as Amazon.
She competed in three Olympic Games, winning silver medal in the 400-metre individual medley at the 1980 Olympics in Moscow.
The Team GB swimmer and gold medal-winner has worked as a TV presenter since retiring from sport.
Amazon, born November 1, 1962, has hosted The Big Breakfast, Superstars and provided commentary for the Olympics.
Sharron has not left competitions behind her as she battled it out against other celebrities on Dancing On Ice and the Island with Bear Grylls.
During lockdown she helped keep the nation’s fitness levels up with her kitchen counter-top exercises.
Predator – Du’aine Ladejo
The talented athlete is now a successful business owner
London-born athlete Du’aine Ladejo is best known for winning the 400 metres sprint at the 1994 European Championships.
He also competed in the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games, winning bronze and silver respectively in the 4x 400m relay.
But many will also remember him for his role in Gladiators, where he played Predator.
When the series ended, he competed on BBC sports show Superstars, taking home the crown in 2004.
He also appeared on Celebrity Love Island in 2005.
While Du’aine, born Valentines Day 1971, is no longer regularly in front of the camera, he is the creator of the show Australia’s Greatest Athlete and brand Trademark Greatest Athlete.
Zodiac – Kate Staples
Zodiac appeared on the show for three seasons
Former British pole vaulter Kate Staples battled it out on Gladiators under the alias Zodiac from series two to five.
The athletic TV regular was best known for smashing speed and agility events, including Pendulum, Skytrak and Pursuit.
After suffering a serious fall on Pole Axe in 1996, Kate took on a less prominent role.
She had a daughter with fellow Gladiator Mark Griffin before marrying rugby player Chris Sheasby, who she had two more children with.
They separated in 2011 before finalising the divorce five years later.
Zodiac now runs adventure boot camps with ex-GB athlete Daley Thompson.
Referee John Anderson
John was iconic as the game’s referee
The unforgettable words “Contenders, you will go on my first whistle. Gladiators, you will go on my second whistle. 3… 2… 1…” still ring in the ears of many a Gladiators fan.
Living legend John Anderson coached an Olympic athlete at every games from 1964 to 2000.
Remarkably, the 90-year-old also only recently stopped playing tennis but reportedly still goes to the gym three times a week.
Having hung up his whistle and his mentoring cap, John is now retired.
When will Gladiators be on BBC?
Gladiators is set to return to British TVs once more.
The BBC will take on the show with all it’s spandex and grit.
The new reboot will begin filming next year (2023).
We will update this with news as we get it.
