If you grew up in the 1990s, your Saturday nights were probably spent watching Gladiators. It was a show families could watch together, with mums and dads enjoying the acrobatics of Hunter and Jet and the whole family taking delight in the jeering and booing of Wolf. Ask anyone who has watched it, and it’s safe to say there hasn’t been anything quite like it since.

Fan favourites

From its launch in 1992, Gladiators quickly became a firm Saturday night favourite. The idea was to pit contenders against the Gladiators in a series of tough yet fun-to-watch challenges. This was no easy feat considering the Gladiators were made up of bodybuilders and Olympians who were given names to match their personalities. From Lightening and Panther to Cobra and Warrior, the Gladiators quickly amassed a huge fan following over the years. However, it was Wolf, the Gladiator that everyone loved to hate, who was the star of the show, playing up to the cameras panto style. Even hosts Ulrika Johnson and John Fashanu couldn’t contain him.

The anticipation

With a huge collection available, part of the fun was seeing which challenges were picked that week and which Gladiators would be trying to make the contenders fail. Skytrak involved the contenders being chased around a scalextric track that was fixed to the ceiling, while Hang Tough saw contenders swinging from high rings whilst the Gladiators raced toward them trying to get them to fall. In what was possibly the most popular challenge, Duel saw contenders and Gladiators battle it out with giant pugil sticks whilst standing on raised platforms. The final challenge, the Eliminator, saw the contenders race each other through an obstacle course that ended with the dreaded Travellator before one of them was crowned the winner.

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Returning to our screens

With other nostalgic shows such as Takeshi’s Castle set to join the likes of the Crystal Maze in returning to our screens, now’s the time to look into Gloucester TV aerial repair if you’re having any issues with your TV. Steve Unett Aerials help with repairs and installations in Cheltenham so it’s worth looking into it now before you miss the next set of TV classics that are returning.

With the 25th anniversary of Gladiators just passed, let’s hope that this favourite will follow suit and make a comeback.