Gladiators star Ace thought he’d be the next Arnold Schwarzenegger before ‘dabbling with steroids’ and booze: ‘My destructive choices started killing me’-Adam Miller-Entertainment – Metro

‘I thought I’d be the next Arnie’ (Picture: ITv/Getty)

Former Gladiators star Warren Furman – aka Ace – has revealed he thought the show would catapult his career to Arnold Schwarzenegger levels of success before until his ‘destructive choices’ started ‘slowly killing’ him.

The athlete joined Gladiators in 1996 when it was on its fifth series and the biggest primetime Saturday night show in the UK, often attracting 16 million viewers.

Furman said he was earning around £2,000 an hour but the huge fame and massive pay checks came at a price when he began drinking more booze than ever before.

‘I was an athlete and sportsman on a TV show that required me to be fit, but I started to pick up some habits that I never thought I would ever, like and drinking alcohol, and quite a lot of it,’ he said.

Furman said that under the pressure to bulk up he began dabbling in steroids until ITV bosses warned he’d be dropped from Gladiators if he didn’t stop, which was a ‘blessing’.

Eventually, Gladiators ended in 2000 and Furman figured he would go on to make a name for himself in Hollywood like his co-star Mark Griffin, known to fans as Trojan, who starred as Action Man in the TV series based on the popular doll, and landed roles alongside the likes of Jean Claude Van Damme and Eddie Murphy.

Furman is now a family man with two kids living in York (Picture: aceactiveministry)

Gladiators will be rebooted on BBC (Picture: ITV/Shutterstock)

‘My idol was Arnold Schwarzenegger,’ said Furman. ‘He’s a man just conquering the world with big muscles – I thought that’s what I would do.’

Gladiators will finally be getting rebooted on the BBC, more than 22 years after it ended on ITV.

The BBC is currently on the hunt for its next batch of ‘superhuman’ athletes to challenge contenders.

 Dan Baldwin, Managing Director Hungry Bear said: ‘It’s the perfect time for Gladiators to return. What other show combines electric excitement, superheroes, giant sponge fingers, elite athletes, and a pinch of pantomime?

‘Watch out for the new breed of superhuman, supersized, superstars bursting on to your screens on BBC One and iPlayer.’

Gladiators returns to BBC One in 2023.  

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