Many will tonight be tuning into the new series of Gladiators – the second season of the new reboot. And although there will be plenty of adrenalin-fuelled excitement in store, some fans may well be thinking back wistfully to the original ’90s run.
Aired on ITV from 1992 to 2000, it’s now been nearly 25 years since Gladiator fans said goodbye to the likes of Wolf, Jet and Lightning, who wowed week after week with their near-superhuman strength and agility. The word iconic gets used a lot nowadays, but for those who grew up in the ’90s, these musclebound athletes were and are the very definition.
But what did our unstoppable participants do next after leaving the TV arena, and could they still take on the Eliminator? Here, the Mirror takes a look at what happened to the original Gladiators, from surprising career changes to devastating tragedies.
Falcon: Bernadette Hunt
Falcon joined the hit TV show for its second series in 1993 and was well known amongst fans as the ‘nicest’ Gladiator. She also made appearances on International Gladiators and remained a core character until 1999.
In the years following her TV fame, Bernadette worked as a fitness instructor in Basingstoke. Last year, Bernadette tragically died at the age of 59 following a cancer diagnosis.
Her death was announced by Rick Jango, the partner of Falcon’s sister, on social media. In the tribute, he said: “She never had a bad word to say about anyone, indeed she was always known as the nicest Gladiator, always stopping to speak and sign autographs for anyone.”
Shadow: Michael Jefferson King
Shadow was one of the most popular stars of the hit ITV series but was axed from the show in 1995 after being caught snorting cocaine and testing positive for steroids. In 2009, he went into rehab and stayed clean for a while; however, he was eventually back on illegal drugs.
Michael Jefferson King, now aged 63, was jailed in 2021 for his part in a blackmail plot, where he threatened to kneecap a drug user if he did not pay a £1,000 debt. He had threatened to take a hammer to a man’s legs after he tried to escape from a terrifying ordeal in which he was hit with a metal pole and gagged.
King was said to be addicted to heroin and crack cocaine at the time and lived in a flat in Acton, west London, that was a “safe haven” for people to take drugs in. He admitted two counts of blackmail and was sent behind bars for six years and three months.
Warrior: Michael Ahearne
Michael Ahearne, now 64, was cheered by millions during his time on the show, but his life came crashing down. He played rugby union for England at youth level before becoming a prize-winning bodybuilder – representing Great Britain at Mr Universe.
The 6ft 4in athlete became a household name as one of the stars of Gladiators during the first six series and was earning up to £100,000 a year. However, his world crumbled in 1997 after becoming embroiled in a plot to foil the prosecution of Philip Glennon Jnr, a then associate of former international cocaine baron Curtis ‘Cocky’ Warren.
Glennon Jnr had been accused of firing a handgun at a doorman and a police officer outside a nightclub in 1996 and was charged with attempted murder of both. Glennon Jnr was jailed at Preston Crown Court in 1998 for six years for attempted murder.
In 1998, Ahearne was sent to prison for corruption and perverting the course of justice in a firearms case and served part of a 15-month jail sentence. Ahearne was released from prison after just six months, having impressed bosses at Wealstun jail in West Yorkshire.
He returned to his home in Oxton, Wirral, where he was the subject of an electronic tag. In 2018, he made headlines again when he was the subject of a police raid at his home in the Wirral. Officers uncovered a stash of anabolic steroids inside a plastic Tesco shopping bag, another bag and some boxes.
Ahearne was arrested on suspicion of possessing the Class C drugs with intent to supply, but no charges were brought over the haul. However, Ahearne was charged over the CS spray and admitted three counts of possessing a weapon “designed or adapted for the discharge of a noxious liquid”.
He was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for 12 months, at Liverpool Crown Court in October 2018 for these offences. The case was brought back to court as Merseyside Police applied to destroy the steroids, which was granted by the district judge.
Amazon: Sharron Davies
You may recognise this former Gladiator as she is actually much more famous for her achievements outside of the show. Sharron, now 62, was a successful swimmer before becoming Amazon, winning a silver medal at the Olympics in Moscow in 1980 and representing Great Britain at the Commonwealth Games and European Championships.
After retiring from the sport, she became a Gladiator in the ’90s but had to retire after just a year on the show due to a knee injury. She went on to become a successful TV presenter, hosting the Big Breakfast and going on to become a regular face of the BBC’s sports coverage.
Sharron also competed in Dancing On Ice back in 2010. In 2019, she was the subject of much criticism after demanding that transgender athletes ‘with a male sex advantage’ be excluded from women’s sports.
She previously came out in support of World Athletics’ decision to exclude transgender athletes from women’s category events – and thanked the organisation for ‘standing up for female athletes’.
She wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: “Hopefully we have our sport back. Sport is for all but only where you qualify in the fair category for your biological reality. We’ll keep fighting till all girls’ sport is protected.”
Back in January 2024, Sharron opened up about the “horrendous pain” she endured while filming Gladiators, telling The Sun: “It was a very long day. We started in the morning and we would finish at ten o’clock at night. It was very intense in the summer, and you could easily get injured.
“Everything we did involved either hanging, pulling or climbing, and I remember getting horrendous pain in my forearms. I had to take Nurofen because they hurt so much.”
Wolf: Mike Van Wijk
TV’s original Mr Nasty was often cited as the most popular Gladiator because of his bad-boy antics. He was on the show for seven years, starring in eight seasons, becoming the main villain.
Wolf also returned for the revived Sky series as the ‘Leader of the Pack’ and appeared in all of the series two episodes. Mike, who is now 72, is living in New Zealand where he owns his own business – Wolf’s Gym.
Wolf has moved halfway across the world and gotten into “the best shape” of his life, with images of his ripping muscles filling the screen behind him and videos of him working out. He still keeps up his fitness regime and is just as ripped now as he was back in the day.
Although he has lost all the hair. In August 2019, he appeared on Lorraine and confessed he’d been begging TV producers to bring the show back once again.
In 2023, Wold delighted fans by competing in the reality competition, Squid Game: The Challenge, based on the sinister Netflix show – but, of course, without such terrifying eliminations.
Although Wolf was knock out in the first gruelling round – which saw the players attempt the Red Light, Green Light challenge – he “seemed in good spirits”.
A source told The Sun at the time: “Everyone recognised him straight away and was excited to meet him. He was a really nice guy. It’s a shame he was taken out in the first round but he seemed in good spirits.
“It just shows you how hard the competition was. “If he found it hard, what hope was there for anyone else?”
Jet: Diane Youdale
Jet was one of the original cast and was much-loved by fans at home. She ended up bowing out after four seasons due to a neck injury she sustained in a nasty fall during one of the challenges.
Now 54, Diane who hails from Middlesbrough, retrained as a psychotherapist and pilates instructor. She found herself back on TV and has popped up on our screens many times.
She appeared as an expert therapist on Big Brother’s Bit On The Side between 2012 and 2014 and competed on Celebrity Pointless in 2014. Diane made headlines in the summer of 2023 when she shared her engagement to her now-wife, Zoe Gilbert, who she met in a supermarket.
The ex-athlete said on the Chillin’ with Ice podcast: “Just over a year ago, a gorgeous lady approached me in my local supermarket and over a year later, we’re going to get married.”
The couple married shortly afterwards, in an intimate “secret” ceremony attended by just six of their closest friends and family members. Diane told Closer at the time: “We’re married! We kept it very, very quiet. Literally, nine people on the planet knew. When you’re in the public eye – whether it was like me and it was literally last millennium, or in this day and age on social media – things just run away with you.
“I’m in my 50s now, and we’re both very private people, and we thought, ‘You know, let’s just keep this thing quiet’. We’ve not let even our nearest and dearest know because we wanted to keep it really tiny.”
Proving that you can be both tough and emotional, she added: “It was casual, I didn’t wear a dress. I wore a nice boho-type top, trousers and a beautiful pair of sandals. Zoe wore her chinos, brogues and a nice shirt with a waistcoat. She looked ever so smart. I cried a lot.”
Hunter: James Crossley
James, now 51, was the youngest cast member as he was just 19 when he started and he became the Gladiators heartthrob. He even ended up bedding the show’s presenter, Ulrika Jonsson.
They dated for a year between 1996 and 1997, and they kept their romance out of the spotlight until the telly presenter told all in her 2003 autobiography. After getting out of the Gladiators game in 2000, James spent years pursuing an acting career and working in theatre.
He’s gone back to the fitness industry in recent years and is now a strength and conditioning coach, while his girlfriend Arianna is also a yoga teacher. He previously dated This Morning’s Dr Zoe Williams.
In 2021, James appeared in Channel 4 reality show The Circle. Opting to compete under the catfish persona of ‘NHS nurse Gemma’, the bodybuilder vowed to donate half the prize money to the NHS if he won the series.
Nowadays, James runs a London-based teacher training school for gong bath practitioners. A handpan musician, James, also opened the London Handpan Academy last year. Championing the instrument on his LinkedIn page, multi-talented James wrote: “This is a unique instrument with a distinct look and vibe. We do events and performances that are mediative and upbeat.”
Lightning: Kim Betts
Lightning was one of the toughest of the Gladiators, reigning supreme as the Queen of Hang Tough. She was a gymnast before becoming a Gladiator and went on to become the longest-serving star of the show.
Kim competed in all of the UK series as well as the majority of the international versions, as well as returning for two Legends specials as part of the 2008 revamp. However, the blonde bombshell quit TV after bowing out of the Gladiator ring.
Kim, now 53, became a successful businesswoman, spending 15 years in property development, as well as running companies, including her own beauty parlour. Kim has maintained her buff physique and she was crowned winner of 2020 IBFA Miss Universe.
In January 2024, Kim showed she still had a passion for lifting after flaunting her incredible six-pack on Instagram. Sharing snaps of her washboard abs, Kim told inspired followers: “Me today…. A 53yr old grandma. It’s irrelevant how many children you’ve given birth to.. It really doesn’t matter how old you are… You can STILL look as good as you did in your 20s! Or EVEN BETTER!”
One impressed fan told Kim: “You have been inspiring me with your extreme skills, strength and beauty since I was eight years old”. Another commented: “Still my favourite Gladiator.”
Cobra: Michael Wilson
During his eight seasons on the show, Cobra had rippling muscles and was at the peak of his physical condition. Many of the Gladiators fell into the party lifestyle, but for Michael, it became part of his filming days as well.
But he would often struggle to chase contestants up the infamous 32-foot-high wall because he was so drunk. He confessed he was often “bleeding drunk” while he battled contestants on the show and got a telling-off from producers.
“I didn’t take it too seriously,” admitted Michael to the Mirror in 2019. “I was mucking about pranking, I had so much fun. It was brilliant I was with a lot of mates with similar interests, we were all similar age, it was fun… There were end of show parties, when we had international Gladiators come over, we would be up all night boozing.”
Michael, now 61, leads a much quieter life now after leaving the showbiz world. He became a motivational speaker in schools and youth clubs up and down the country.
In 2019, Cobra was seriously ill and battling pneumonia in hospital and blamed his illness on his punishing workouts for the ITV show. “I’m only half a Gladiator now. It’s been touch and go,” he told The Sun.
Back in January 2024, Michael, who now lives in Kent, opened up about the life of a Gladiator with KentOnline, confessing: “It gets a bit boring really. It’s a lot of the same thing, making appearances at shopping centres and theme parks. The money was fantastic though.”
However, he admitted he wasn’t too impressed by the new era of Gladiators, which he likened to a fake Rolex. Michael said: “The new show is a bit like buying a Rolex from the market… it looks good and looks the same, but it’s not as good as the original.
“We weren’t even the originals ourselves, to be fair, as it was the Americans. It’s hard to repeat something and make it as good as the first.
“I was a bit insulted nobody from the team asked the originals to come back, even while it was being filmed, but they probably don’t want us talking to the new ones. They probably think we would share some tips and tricks with the new ones, whether it be how to climb the wall or get ahead of other challenges.”
Rhino: Mark Smith
Mark, now 55, was one of the stars of the original American version of the show before transferring to the UK version. He exited the show in 1999 and went on to become a successful actor, living in Los Angeles.
He had a recurring role as ‘Johnson’ in EastEnders before heading Stateside, where he’s starred in shows such as Agents of S.H.E.I.L.D, and NCIS: Los Angeles. His movie roles include parts in acclaimed dramas Yardie, Creed, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.
He’s also previously played Carson in 2021 Westeren, The Harder They Fall alongside Idris Elba, and Doom in 2022 thriller The Enforcer, which starred Antonio Banderas and Kate Bosworth.
Mark, who now lives in west London, also appeared as ‘Shadow Warrior’ in Batman Begins. Still a fitness buff, Mark continues to share insights into his healthy life on Instagram.
In 2022, amid talks of a reboot, Mark expressed a keen interest in returning to the Gladiators arena. When asked whether he would want to get involved during an interview with the Radio Times, Mark replied: “Yeah, would I like to be? I think so. In what capacity? I have no idea. I’m not bad for being in my 50s, but could I hang with 20 year olds? I don’t think so.”
He added: : “I met with MGM. It was with one of the head producers who is actually doing the show and they’d gone to the BBC and they’re working together. Am I going to work on it? I’m not sure if I’ve got the time to, but I’m still very active, I still look after myself and do a multitude of different sports.”
Ace: Warren Furman
Yorkshireman Warren, now 52, was most famous for being Katie Price’s first fiancée back in the 1990s when she was known as Jordan. They were engaged for two years before splitting in 1999.
He said their luxury lifestyle led to the romance turning toxic, telling us: “We travelled the world first class, went for expensive dinners, had big houses and fancy cars. We both came from working-class families and were hustling for a few quid.
“We were put into a lifestyle where people had everything. We were absolutely petrified we would lose it. So we made some dubious decisions together. It jeopardised our relationship.”
He was on the ITV show from 1996 until 1999 when he turned his back on showbusiness and found God. Warren now lives in York with his wife and two children.
Speaking on This Morning previously, he said: “I used to worship myself, I thought I was fantastic. I have now turned to God’s grace. I am a Gladiator of the gospel. You’ll never know God until you change your direction and so I realised this. It was great, we had loads of money and women, but I realised I had to change.”
Last summer, Warren took his commitment to Christianity to the next level, becoming ordained as a vicar alongside his wife Dionne. Speaking about his ordination with The Sun at the time, Warren shared: “I was absolutely blown away with everything that happened. I couldn’t believe I was standing there next to my wife. It was a magical day for the pair of us.
“While I was in the TV show, I always put my faith in myself. Now I put my faith in God. I’ve gone from TV’s Gladiator to God’s gladiator, while Dionne has gone from flying high as a cabin crew manager with Virgin Atlantic to reaching for the sky in the name of Jesus.”
The new season of Gladiators begins this evening (January 18) at 5:50 pm on BBC One.
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