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Crossley, JamesWe have 1 book for this author.
Gladiators was a game show produced by LWT for ITV in the United Kingdom from 10 October 1992 to 1 January 2000. It was an adaptation of the United States game show American Gladiators, which had developed a cult following in the UK through its late night TV showings, as well as an Australian spin-off. Repeats of Gladiators series are currently shown on Challenge and is to return to it's sister channel, Ftn. [1] The show pitted contestants in a variety of physical events against the 'Gladiators', who would attempt to prevent them from achieving maximum points on a variety of games. After this, the two contestants would race each other on The Eliminator, an assault course containing climbing, balancing, and cargo nets. The contender with the most points received a half second head start for every 1 point they were in front by. The show was originally presented by John Fashanu and Ulrika Jonsson. John Fashanu was replaced by Jeremy Guscott in 1997, before returning for the final mini series in 1999. The referee was John Anderson and the timekeepers over the show's run were Andrew Norgate, Derek Redmond and Eugene Gilkes. John Sachs commentated for the show from the beginning to the end and the Gladiators were cheered on by a group of cheerleaders, known as G-Force. Apart from the off-series live events, all the Gladiators tapings took place at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, England. The GladiatorsFemale
Male
The EventsSee Gladiators events main page The ContendersApplicants that wanted to take part in the show had to go through rigorous fitness tests to prove themselves before they were selected to take part in the show. Future British 400 metre hurdler Chris Rawlinson and Wales International Rugby Union winger Glen Webbe were the most famous of these to compete. Most competitors achieved brief local fame, but Series 3 women's champion Eunice Huthart earned great recognition, and briefly presented late night television before becoming a stunt double. ControversiesThe relationship between "Hunter" (James Crossley) and presenter Ulrika Jonsson was a tabloid focus during 1996 and 1997. The pair initially denied the affair, but later Jonsson admitted it in her 2003 biography.[1] John AndersonAnderson was the head official for the entire duration. He was best known for his call before every event of "Contender READY! Gladiator READY!". His strict attitude was often thought to be an act due to the fact he sometimes turned a blind eye to obvious cheating. During celebrity specials Anderson took a more comical attitude to the show such as adapting his call to "Little Contender READY!" when Willie Carson took part. 'The Wolfman'Gladiator "Wolf" (aka Michael Van Wijk) remained in the show for its entire duration. The most outspoken and rebellious Gladiator, Wolf did everything to break the rules from fighting with contestants, arguing with the referee, pulling off contestants' trousers and bullying the presenters. American Gladiators fans who have watched Wolf see him as the British equivalent to the American Gladiator Danny Lee 'Nitro' Clark. Train 2 WinIn the late 1990s, when the popularity of the programme began to wane, a spin-off entitled Gladiators: Train To Win was produced and aired on CITV in 1996, based on Gladiators 2000, the kids' 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"). Celebrity SpecialsFour celebrity specials were produced during the shows history. The first two, in 1993 and 1994 were aired in the week between Semi-Final 2 and the Grand Final and the other two in 1996 and 1997 were aired over the Christmas period. Celebrity Special Winners The Brian Conley ShowThe Brian Conley Show included a sketch character who was a stuntman and mock Gladiator called Dangerous Brian, performed by Brian Conley himself. His commentator and "sidekick" was Gladiators' John Sachs. LWT produced both shows, and for one sketch, Dangerous had to run The Eliminator with Wolf. [2] International ShowsThe show inspired many other countries to start their own series. The first 4 countries to get in on the act were Russia, USA, UK and Finland. All four appeared on the first International Gladiators series. Shortly after this series other countries such as Nigeria, Australia, South Africa and Germany followed the trend. The last two nations to air the show were Denmark and Sweden, Denmark beginning in 2002 and ending quickly afterwards. Sweden started in 2001 and ended in 2004, after much success including the only ever Gladiators PC game, 'Gladiatorerna'. With Sweden gone in 2004, no other nations remained, and therefore the Gladiators craze was over. External links
Notes
This biographical information was gathered from the James_Crossley page, courtesy of the Wikipedia project. BooksDiscovery of Witches The Wonderfull Discoverie of Witches in the Countie of Lancaster |
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