GLADIATORS star Hunter has shared he had to sign up for Jobseekers Allowance after filming the hit show for the first time.
The famed bodybuilder, real name James Crossley, shot to fame as one of the cast members of the then-ITV game show, joining in the second series in 1993.
At the time, James was just 19 years old, and was trying to make his way in the bodybuilding industry.
After completing his first stint of Gladiators around June 1993, but with the show not airing until that September, he treated himself to a holiday to Los Angeles with his fellow co-stars Mark Griffith (Trojan), Diane Youdale (Jet) and Kim Betts (Lightning).
However, reality hit hard when he came home.
Speaking on Maisie Adams and Scott Bryan’s Remember Me? podcast, James explained: “[When] I came back, and I basically had no money left, and I couldn’t work because I was doing this, so I remember signing on the dole when I’d finished the filming.
“I signed on for about five or six months, and then I started getting the appearances.”
Thankfully, his stint on the show proved a hit – and soon Hunter became a series regular, and was paid for personal appearances across the UK, live shows each year, and even two international series of the energetic series.
He remained with the show until series 8 in 2000, after which ITV cancelled the show.
Gladiators was later revived for a short-lived stint in 2008 by Sky One, before the BBC picked it up and returned it to primetime TV in 2024, but Crossley was not in the cast.
The series is now back as a fan favourite, with Bradley and Barney Walsh presenting.
In the years since his time as a Gladiator, James has continued to make public appearances as Hunter – while also running a yoga and sound bath centre in London.
In 2021, he returned to our screens for a stint on Channel 4 social media reality show, The Circle, hiding his identity from the other players by pretending to be an NHS nurse called Gemma.
Now, he’s getting ready to return to his lycra-clad roots by appearing at the Gladiators Experience from Birmingham’s NEC Arena from May 1st until August 31st.
He will be joined by fellow former Gladiators including Diane Youdale (Jet), Kim Betts (Lightning), and Mike Lewis (Saracen).
James said of the immersive experience: “I was lucky enough to spend many years in my twenties having an incredible time competing on those iconic games.
“To see that viewers are now getting the chance to step into that world and have a go themselves is really exciting.”
