Gladiators legend John Anderson has sadly passed away aged 92. 

The show’s original referee, who appeared from its 1992 debut until 2000 with a brief return in 2008, was famous for his catchphrase “Contenders ready, Gladiators ready.” No cause of death was given.

The show’s offical X account said in a statement: We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of our beloved referee, John Anderson, at the age of 92′. 

‘Our hearts go out to his friends and family. John will forever be remembered as the iconic voice that brought ‘Gladiators Ready! Contenders Ready!”. 

As well his TV career Glaswegian born John also trained numerous Olympian runners including Dave Moorcroft who broke the 5000m record in 1982.

John also coached silver medalist Liz McColgan as well as Commonwealth heptathlete Judy Simpson, who would go on to appear as Gladiator Nightshade. 

Paying tribute Dave told Athletics Weekly: ‘I can’t speak too highly of John, he turned water into wine’.

‘He would die for his athletes and he never took a step backwards. He was a fighter in everything he did. He coached me from the age of 16 and never took a penny. It cost him a fortune for the privilege of working for nothing.’ 

Meanwhile fans rushed to X, formerly Twitter, to pay their condolences writing: ‘Sad news tonight that the original Referee of Gladiators John Anderson has died. A true icon of the show and will be fondly remembered by all Gladiators Fans. RIP John and thanks for the memories X’.

‘Sad news he was the original ref of the show such a legend RIP John Anderson’: ‘RIP john Anderson to everyone one who watched you in the old gladiators and the second reboot you was a massive part to our child hood and will forever be in our hearts. hope you have it easy where ever you are now, and keep that voice in our minds’.

More wrote:  ‘Oh no! John was a legend, sad news. R.I.P. John Anderson’: ‘Some sad news just in John Anderson has passed away Iconic referee of uk tv show gladiators one of the greats fun feud with both John and Wolf’: ‘RIP to the man, the myth, the legend, John Anderson’.

Gladiators, which was presented by Ulrika Jonsson, John Fashanu and later Jeremy Guscott, first hit screens on 10 October 1992, with the series comprising of contestants fighting against a Gladiator. 

Aiming for as many points as they could, the contestant with the highest number of points got a headstart in The Eliminator assault course with every point being worth a second. The winner of The Eliminator would then complete in the next round. 

Originally ending in 2000, Gladiators was later revived by Sky1 and aired in 2008 for a year, before being cancelled in May 2009. 

The physically challenging game-show was then resurrected a second time by BBC in January 2023, 32-years after its original ITV launch.

And now Gladiators will return with  a celebrity spin-off after the rebooted show became a ratings smash. 

Its arrival on the prime time Saturday night schedule proved to be a ratings winner for the BBC, with 28 day viewing figures revealing 9.8million tuned in for the first episode. 

The sizeable audience share turned it into the most successful launch for an entertainment show on the BBC in seven years, with an average 8.3million viewers watching across the entire eleven episodes. 

Its success means Gladiators will return with a second series that is expected to include at least one celebrity-led version of the show, typically contested by members of the public, in 2025. 

‘I can reveal we are going to do a celebrity special,’ Executive Producer and Hungry Bear Media Managing Director Dan Baldwin, husband of TV presenter Holly Willoughby, told Radio 4. 

‘You always look at old shows that are no longer on television. You are always coming up with new ways of bringing back a show.’

He added: ‘It’s no exaggeration to say that the response to Gladiators has been phenomenal. The episodes have been packed with nail-biting drama, thrilling action and huge emotion. 

‘Series 2 will see the show go from strength-to-strength. We have some amazing surprises in store for the fans. Are you ready?!?’ 

Kalpna Patel-Knight, Head of Entertainment at the BBC, said: ‘Gladiators has really kicked this year off with a bang, and we’re so delighted that the fans have come to the show in their masses. 

‘It has been wonderful to hear how much families have loved watching this together, as part of the BBC’s Saturday evening entertainment offering. We can’t wait for more action from the Gladiators.’

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Source: Los Angeles Times1