Gladiators (Australian series 1)
# Gladiators (Australian series 1)

The first series of Gladiators began airing on Seven Network on 29 April 1995 following successful versions of the Gladiators format in United States, United Kingdom and Finland. The series closely resembled the UK series albeit with just four events and the Eliminator.

Fifteen episodes were filmed in a progressive competition at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre between 24 March and 2 April. Kimberley Joseph and Aaron Pedersen presented the show whilst play by play commentary was by Tony Schibeci. John Alexander acted as referee and John Forsyth as assistant referee. Cheerleaders performed in the background of the events.

Winners of the heats received a Sony music system and a selection of CD's valued to $2,000. The runners up received a set of gym apparatus. The winners of the final won a car (Hyundai Sonata).

## Gladiators

### Male

* Condor - Alistair Gibb
* Cougar - Ashley Buck
* Force - John Gergelifi
* Hammer - Mark McGaw
* Taipan - Michael Melksham
* Tower - Ron Reeve
* Vulcan - John Seru

Force suffered an injury in Atlasphere in the third quarter final and had to retire from the show.

### Female

* Blade - Bev Carter
* Cheeta - Nicky Davico
* Delta - Karen Alley
* Flame - Lynda Byrnes
* Fury - Julie Saunders
* Rebel - Barbara Kendell
* Storm - Charlene Machin

## Events

Atlasphere, Duel, Gauntlet, Hang Tough, Hit & Run, Powerball, Pyramid, Suspension Bridge, Tilt and Wall were played over Series 1.

The Eliminator featured as the final event in every show.

## Shows

Fifteen shows along with an unaired pilot were filmed with the televised shows taking the form of a progressive competition. Each show featured four events along with the Eliminator. The winner of the Eliminator would progress to the next round.

Winning challengers are in bold.

| Episode | Contest | Original airdate | Challengers (Female) | Challengers (Male) | Events |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| N/A | Unaired $Pilot^1$ | N/A | Lisa Vs Jane | Brian Vs James | Powerball, Wall, Hang Tough, Duel |
| 01 | Heat 1 | 29 April 1995 | Heather Marychurch Vs Gina Good | Clinton Barter Vs Howard Arbuthnot | Gauntlet, Pyramid, Powerball, Hit & Run |
| 02 | Heat 2 | 6 May 1995 | Bernie Withers Vs Tracey Nicholson | Andrew Halliday Vs Adam Cooney | Suspension Bridge, Hang Tough, Atlasphere, Tilt |
| 03 | Heat 3 | 13 May 1995 | Sabrina Hooyman Vs Carol-Anne Horvath | David Wallis Vs Paul Vella | Hit & Run, Wall, Duel, Powerball |
| 04 | Heat 4 | 20 May 1995 | Karen Swansborough Vs Hillary Ord | Tony Langdon Vs Corey Parker | Pyramid, Tilt, Gauntlet, Suspension Bridge |
| 05 | Heat 5 | 27 May 1995 | Nellie Baker Vs Fernanda Lacey | Ashley Martin Vs Alex Sanz | Atlasphere, Wall, Hang Tough, Duel |
| 06 | Heat 6 | 3 June 1995 | Teresa Brett Vs Alison Jackson | Rod McQueen Vs John Powell | Gauntlet, Atlasphere, Hang Tough, Suspension Bridge |
| 07 | Heat 7 | 10 June 1995 | Annie Alderson Vs Kerry Warman | Mark Brine and Ian Jacobs | Powerball, Hang Tough, Wall, Duel |
| 08 | Heat 8 | 17 June 1995 | Tania Logan Vs Donna Sutor/ Kathy $Katzourakis^2$ | Rhett Foreman Vs Andrew Strickland | Pyramid, Gauntlet, Duel, Powerball |
| 09 | Quarter Final 1 | 24 June 1995 | Sabrina Hooyman Vs Nellie Baker | Ashley Martin Vs David Wallis | Pyramid, Tilt, Wall, Suspension Bridge |
| 10 | Quarter Final 2 | 1 July 1995 | Kerry Warman Vs Bernie Withers | Andrew Halliday Vs Ian Jacobs | Powerball, Duel, Hit & Run, Pyramid |
| 11 | Quarter Final 3 | 8 July 1995 | Teresa Brett Vs Karen Swansborough | Rod McQueen Vs Tony Langdon | Wall, $Atlasphere^3,$ Hang Tough, Gauntlet |
| 12 | Quarter Final 4 | 15 July 1995 | Fernanda $Lacey^4$ Vs Tania Logan | Howard Arbuthnot Vs Rhett Foreman | Duel, Pyramid, Hit & Run, Powerball |
| 13 | Semi Final 1 | 22 July 1995 | Teresa Brett Vs Nellie Baker | Dave Wallis Vs Rod McQueen | Suspension Bridge, Pyramid, Powerball, Hang Tough |
| 14 | Semi Final 2 | 29 July 1995 | Fernanda Lacey Vs Bernie Withers | Andrew Halliday Vs Rhett Foreman | Duel, Wall, Tilt, Gauntlet |
| 15 | Final | 5 August 1995 | Teresa Brett Vs Bernie Withers | Dave Wallis Vs Andrew Halliday | Gauntlet, Duel, Pyramid, Hang Tough |

$^1$ The challengers in this episode were actually members of the production crew and changed throughout the episode. The names given were just for filming purposes. The headstarts given in the Eliminator were not based on points scored in the events. $^2Replaced$ Donna after she fell on her pugil stick and injured her leg. $^3This$ would be the last ever appearance by Force after falling over in his Atlasphere and injuring his leg. $^4Replaced$ Gina Goode who having won her heat was unable to continue in the Quarter finals due to an ankle injury sustained in Powerball in her heat.

## Episode summary

### Heat 1

Original airdate: 29 April 1995

Challengers: Heather Marychurch v Gina Good, Clinton Barter v Howard Arbuthnot

Female :

| Event | Heather | Gina | Gladiators |
| - | - | - | - |
| Gauntlet | 0 | 5 | Rebel, Cheeta, Blade, Fury & Delta |
| Pyramid | 0 | 0 | Flame & Cheeta |
| Powerball | 2 | 2 | Delta, Flame & Storm |
| Hit and Run | 2 | 8 | Delta, Rebel, Fury & Cheeta |
| TOTAL | 4 | 15 |

Male :

| Event | Clinton | Howard | Gladiators |
| - | - | - | - |
| Gauntlet | 0 | 0 | Vulcan, Condor, Cougar, Force & Tower |
| Pyramid | 10 | 0 | Taipan & Hammer |
| Powerball | 0 | 0 | Cougar, Hammer & Vulcan |
| Hit and Run | 0 | 0 | Taipan, Tower, Condor & Force |
| TOTAL | 10 | 0 |

Eliminator

* Female: 5.5 second head start for Gina
* Male: 5 second head start for Clinton
* Winners: Gina Good & Howard Arbuthnot

### Heat 2

Original airdate: 6 May 1995

Challengers: Bernadette Withers v Tracey Nicholson, Andrew Halliday v Adam Cooney

Female :

| Event | Bernadette | Tracey | Gladiators |
| - | - | - | - |
| Suspension Bridge | 0 | 0 | Flame & Storm |
| Hang Tough | 0 | 0 | Blade & Fury |
| Atlaspheres | 2 | 4 | Delta & Rebel |
| Tilt | 10 | 5 | Cheeta & Flame |
| TOTAL | 12 | 9 |

Male :

| Event | Andrew | Adam | Gladiators |
| - | - | - | - |
| Suspension Bridge | 0 | 0 | Tower & Condor |
| Hang Tough | 10 | 5 | Taipan & Cougar |
| Atlaspheres | 6 | 2 | Hammer & Condor |
| Tilt | 10 | 5 | Taipan & Tower |
| TOTAL | 26 | 12 |

Eliminator

* Female: 1.5 second head start for Bernadette
* Male: 7 second head start for Andrew
* Winners: Bernadette Withers & Andrew Halliday

### Heat 3

Original airdate: 13 May 1995

Challengers: Sabrina Hooyman v Carol-Anne Horvath, David Wallis v Paul Vella

Female :

| Event | Sabrina | Carol-Anne | Gladiators |
| - | - | - | - |
| Hit and Run | 6 | 6 | Blade, Delta, Cheeta & Rebel |
| Wall | 10 | 5 | Blade & Storm |
| Duel | 5 | 0 | Storm & Flame |
| Powerball | 0 | 4 | Delta, Flame & Rebel |
| TOTAL | 21 | 15 |

Male :

| Event | David | Paul | Gladiators |
| - | - | - | - |
| Hit and Run | 4 | 0 | Hammer, Force, Cougar & Taipan |
| Wall | 0 | 0 | Cougar & Condor |
| Duel | 5 | 0 | Vulcan & Tower |
| Powerball | 7 | 3 | Cougar, Hammer & Taipan |
| TOTAL | 16 | 3 |

Eliminator

* Female: 3 second head start for Sabrina
* Male: 6.5 second head start for David
* Winners: Sabrina Hooyman & David Wallis

### Heat 4

Original airdate: 20 May 1995

Challengers: Karen Swansborough v Hillary Ord, Corey Parker v Tony Langdon

Female :

| Event | Karen | Hillary | Gladiators |
| - | - | - | - |
| Pyramid | 0 | 0 | Fury & Cheeta |
| Tilt | 10 | 0 | Storm & Flame |
| Gauntlet | 10 | 5 | Fury, Delta, Rebel, Blade & Flame |
| Suspension Bridge | 10 | 0 | Rebel & Storm |
| TOTAL | 30 | 5 |

Male :

| Event | Corey | Tony | Gladiators |
| - | - | - | - |
| Pyramid | 0 | 0 | Condor & Cougar |
| Tilt | 5 | 5 | Vulcan & Tower |
| Gauntlet | 10 | 5 | Condor, Vulcan, Hammer, Force & Tower |
| Suspension Bridge | 0 | 10 | Taipan & Force |
| TOTAL | 10 | 20 |

Eliminator

* Female: 12.5 second head start for Karen
* Male: 5 second head start for Tony
* Winners: Karen Swansborough & Tony Langdon

### Heat 5

Original airdate: 27 May 1995

Challengers: Nellie Baker v Fernanda Lacey, Ashley Martin v Alex Sanz

Female :

| Event | Nellie | Fernanda | Gladiators |
| - | - | - | - |
| Atlasphere | 2 | 2 | Cheeta & Rebel |
| Wall | 5 | 10 | Fury & Delta |
| Hang Tough | 10 | 10 | Cheeta & Blade |
| Duel | 5 | 5 | Storm & Flame |
| TOTAL | 22 | 27 |

Male :

| Event | Ashley | Alex | Gladiators |
| - | - | - | - |
| Atlasphere | 6 | 4 | Tower & Hammer |
| Wall | 10 | 5 | Taipan & Hammer |
| Hang Tough | 10 | 5 | Condor & Cougar |
| Duel | 5 | 0 | Tower & Vulcan |
| TOTAL | 31 | 14 |

Eliminator

* Female: 2.5 second head start for Fernanda
* Male: 8.5 second head start for Ashley
* Winners: Nellie Baker & Ashley Martin

### Heat 6

Original airdate: 3 June 1995

Challengers: Teresa Brett v Alison Jackson, Rod McQueen v John Powell

Female :

| Event | Teresa | Alison | Gladiators |
| - | - | - | - |
| Gauntlet | 5 | 10 | Storm, Rebel, Delta, Cheeta & Blade |
| Atlasphere | 2 | 2 | Flame & Storm |
| Hang Tough | 0 | 0 | Blade & Cheeta |
| Suspension Bridge | 0 | 10 | Flame & Rebel |
| TOTAL | 7 | 22 |

Male :

| Event | Rod | John | Gladiators |
| - | - | - | - |
| Gauntlet | 0 | 0 | Tower, Cougar, Vulcan, Condor & Hammer |
| Atlaspheres | 8 | 2 | Force & Condor |
| Hang Tough | 5 | 5 | Taipan & Hammer |
| Suspension Bridge | 0 | 10 | Tower & Hammer |
| TOTAL | 13 | 17 |

Eliminator

* Female: 7.5 second head start for Alison
* Male: 2 second head start for John
* Winners: Teresa Brett & Rod McQueen

### Heat 7

Original airdate: 10 June 1995

Challengers: Annie Alderson v Kerry Warman, Mark Brine v Ian Jacobs

Female :

| Event | Annie | Kerry | Gladiators |
| - | - | - | - |
| Powerball | 6 | 6 | Cheeta, Delta & Rebel |
| Hang Tough | 5 | 5 | Blade & Fury |
| Wall | 5 | 10 | Storm & Blade |
| Duel | 5 | 5 | Storm & Flame |
| TOTAL | 21 | 26 |

Male :

| Event | Mark | Ian | Gladiators |
| - | - | - | - |
| Powerball | 4 | 3 | Hammer, Taipan & Vulcan |
| Hang Tough | 0 | 5 | Cougar & Taipan |
| Wall | 10 | 5 | Condor & Cougar |
| Duel | 5 | 10 | Tower & Force |
| TOTAL | 19 | 23 |

Eliminator

* Female: 2.5 second head start for Kerry
* Male: 2 second head start for Ian
* Winners: Kerry Warman & Ian Jacobs

### Heat 8

Original airdate: 17 June 1995

Challengers: Tania Logan v Donna Sutor/Kathy Katzourakis, Rhett Foreman v Andrew Strickland

Female :

| Event | Tania | Donna/Kathy | Gladiators |
| - | - | - | - |
| Pyramid | 0 | 0 | Delta & Blade |
| Gauntlet | 0 | 0 | Flame, Rebel, Cheeta, Blade & Delta |
| Duel | 5 | 0 | Flame & Storm |
| Powerball | 2 | 4 | Cheeta, Rebel & Storm |
| TOTAL | 7 | 4 |

Male :

| Event | Rhett | Andrew | Gladiators |
| - | - | - | - |
| Pyramid | 0 | 10 | Condor & Vulcan |
| Gauntlet | 5 | 5 | Force, Cougar, Hammer, Condor & Tower |
| Duel | 0 | 0 | Cougar & Taipan |
| Powerball | 0 | 0 | Hammer, Tower & Vulcan |
| TOTAL | 5 | 15 |

Eliminator

* Female: 1.5 second head start for Tania
* Male: 5 second head start for Andrew
* Winners: Tania Logan & Rhett Foreman

1 Donna injured herself after landing on her pugil stick in Duel, therefore Kathy replaced her in Powerball.

### Quarter-Final 1

Original airdate: 24 June 1995

Challengers: Nellie Baker v Sabrina Hooyman, Ashley Martin v David Wallis

Female :

| Event | Nellie | Sabrina | Gladiators |
| - | - | - | - |
| Pyramid | 10 | 0 | Cheeta & Delta |
| Tilt | 0 | 2 | Flame & Cheeta |
| Wall | 10 | 5 | Storm & Blade |
| Suspension Bridge | 0 | 0 | Flame & Storm |
| TOTAL | 20 | 7 |

Male :

| Event | Ashley | David | Gladiators |
| - | - | - | - |
| Pyramid | 0 | 0 | Tower & Condor |
| Tilt | 2 | 7 | Tower & Vulcan |
| Wall | 10 | 0 | Cougar & Taipan |
| Suspension Bridge | 0 | 0 | Tower & Vulcan |
| TOTAL | 12 | 7 |

Eliminator

* Female: 6.5 second head start for Nellie
* Male: 2.5 second head start for Ashley
* Winners: Nellie Baker & David Wallis

### Quarter-Final 2

Original airdate: 1 July 1995

Challengers: Kerry Warman v Bernadette Withers, Ian Jacobs v Andrew Halliday

Female :

| Event | Kerry | Bernadette | Gladiators |
| - | - | - | - |
| Powerball | 4 | 0 | Blade, Delta & Flame |
| Duel | 0 | 0 | Flame & Storm |
| Hit and Run | 12 | 10 | Fury, Cheeta, Delta & Rebel |
| Pyramid | 0 | 0 | Cheeta & Storm |
| TOTAL | 16 | 10 |

Male :

| Event | Ian | Andrew | Gladiators |
| - | - | - | - |
| Powerball | 0 | 8 | Hammer, Taipan & Tower |
| Duel | 5 | 5 | Vulcan & Tower |
| Hit and Run | 2 | 4 | Taipan, Force, Hammer & Vulcan |
| Pyramid | 0 | 10 | Cougar & Condor |
| TOTAL | 7 | 27 |

Eliminator

* Female: 3 second head start for Kerry
* Male: 10 second head start for Andrew
* Winners: Bernadette Withers & Andrew Halliday

### Quarter-Final 3

Original airdate: 8 July 1995

Challengers: Karen Swansborough v Teresa Brett, Tony Langdon v Rod McQueen

Female :

| Event | Karen | Teresa | Gladiators |
| - | - | - | - |
| Wall | 10 | 0 | Storm & Delta |
| Atlaspheres | 2 | 6 | Rebel & Flame |
| Hang Tough | 5 | 5 | Delta & Cheeta |
| Gauntlet | 10 | 10 | Flame, Delta, Blade, Rebel & Fury |
| TOTAL | 27 | 21 |

Male :

| Event | Tony | Rod | Gladiators |
| - | - | - | - |
| Wall | 0 | 10 | Condor & Cougar |
| Atlaspheres | 10 | 4 | Force & Hammer |
| Hang Tough | 0 | 0 | Taipan & Cougar |
| Gauntlet | 0 | 0 | Vulcan, Taipan, Tower, Condor & Hammer |
| TOTAL | 10 | 14 |

Eliminator

* Female: 3 second head start for Karen
* Male: 2 second head start for Rod
* Winners: Teresa Brett & Rod McQueen

### Quarter-Final 4

Original airdate: 15 July 1995

Challengers: Tania Logan v Fernanda Lacey, Howard Arbuthnot v Rhett Foreman

Female :

| Event | Tania | Fernanda | Gladiators |
| - | - | - | - |
| Duel | 5 | 5 | Flame & Storm |
| Pyramid | 0 | 0 | Delta & Cheeta |
| Hit and Run | 2 | 8 | Flame, Fury, Blade & Rebel |
| Powerball | 2 | 2 | Cheeta, Delta & Rebel |
| TOTAL | 9 | 15 |

Male :

| Event | Howard | Rhett | Gladiators |
| - | - | - | - |
| Duel | 5 | 0 | Tower & Vulcan |
| Pyramid | 0 | 0 | Hammer & Condor |
| Hit and Run | 8 | 8 | Taipan, Tower, Cougar & Vulcan |
| Powerball | 0 | 2 | Cougar, Hammer & Taipan |
| TOTAL | 13 | 10 |

Eliminator

* Female: 3 second head start for Fernanda
* Male: 1.5 second head start for Howard
* Winners: Fernanda Lacey & Rhett Foreman

### Semi-final 1

Original airdate: 22 July 1995

Challengers: Teresa Brett v Nellie Baker, David Wallis v Rod McQueen

Female :

| Event | Teresa | Nellie | Gladiators |
| - | - | - | - |
| Suspension Bridge | 5 | 0 | Storm & Flame |
| Pyramid | 0 | 0 | Delta & Cheeta |
| Powerball | 3 | 6 | Cheeta, Delta & Rebel |
| Hang Tough | 0 | 0 | Fury & Blade |
| TOTAL | 8 | 6 |

Male :

| Event | David | Rod | Gladiators |
| - | - | - | - |
| Suspension Bridge | 0 | 0 | Tower & Vulcan |
| Pyramid | 0 | 0 | Condor & Hammer |
| Powerball | 2 | 0 | Condor, Hammer & Taipan |
| Hang Tough | 0 | 0 | Taipan & Cougar |
| TOTAL | 2 | 0 |

Eliminator

* Female: Teresa walkover in to Grand Final due to Nellie's injury.
* Male: 1 second head start for David
* Winners: Teresa Brett & David Wallis

### Semi-final 2

Original airdate: 29 July 1995

Challengers: Bernadette Withers v Fernanda Lacey, Andrew Halliday v Rhett Foreman

Female :

| Event | Bernadette | Fernanda | Gladiators |
| - | - | - | - |
| Duel | 5 | 5 | Storm & Flame |
| Wall | 10 | 5 | Blade & Storm |
| Tilt | 0 | 2 | Flame & Cheeta |
| Gauntlet | 0 | 5 | Rebel, Fury, Blade, Delta & Storm |
| TOTAL | 15 | 17 |

Male :

| Event | Andrew | Rhett | Gladiators |
| - | - | - | - |
| Duel | 5 | 0 | Tower & Vulcan |
| Wall | 10 | 0 | Condor & Cougar |
| Tilt | 5 | 0 | Tower & Taipan |
| Gauntlet | 10 | 10 | Vulcan, Taipan, Cougar, Condor & Hammer |
| TOTAL | 30 | 10 |

Eliminator

* Female: 1 second head start for Fernanda
* Male: 10 second head start for Andrew
* Winners: Bernadette Withers & Andrew Halliday

### Grand Final

Original airdate: 5 August 1995 Challengers: Teresa Brett v Bernadette Withers, David Wallis v Andrew Halliday

Female :

| Event | Teresa | Bernadette | Gladiators |
| - | - | - | - |
| Gauntlet | 10 | 10 | Rebel, Fury, Blade, Delta & Storm |
| Duel | 5 | 5 | Storm & Flame |
| Pyramid | 0 | 0 | Delta & Cheeta |
| Hang Tough | 0 | 5 | Blade & Fury |
| TOTAL | 15 | 20 |

Male :

| Event | David | Andrew | Gladiators |
| - | - | - | - |
| Gauntlet | 0 | 10 | Tower, Vulcan, Cougar, Condor & Taipan |
| Duel | 5 | 0 | Vulcan & Tower |
| Pyramid | 0 | 0 | Hammer & Condor |
| Hang Tough | 0 | 10 | Cougar & Taipan |
| TOTAL | 5 | 20 |

Eliminator

* Female: 2.5 second start for Bernadette
* Male: 7.5 second start for Andrew
* Winners: Bernadette Withers & Andrew Halliday

## Cheerleaders

Choreographer: Davidia Lind

Cheerleaders: Cintra Bedford, Jane Crichton, Jessica Emblen, Sarah Harlow, Tamra Lind, Tamara Raup, Emma Sieber, Leigh-Anne Vizer, Francene Vedelago, Kyle Watson

## Production

Production began in January 1995 when the producers began their search for Gladiators and challengers. The long list was cut to 100 people who attended tryouts in Brisbane (where it was decided the show would be filmed), Melbourne and Sydney. Fourteen Gladiators and a number of challengers were selected.

The apparatus was delivered to the Brisbane Entertainment Centre in March requiring 35 trucks and 100 riggers whilst the Gladiators filmed the opening credits at Dee Why. Challengers arrived at the BEC on 16 March to begin training.

An unaired pilot episode was filmed using the Gladiators and production crew as challengers. There was no audience and Force, Rebel and Cheeta did not compete in any events.

Filming commenced on 24 March and wrapped on 2 April. Initially audiences numbered 2,000 but grew to 5,000 as filming progressed. St John's Ambulance personnel were on site during filming.

The first episode aired on Seven Network on 29 April and immediately entered the top 10 most watch shows in Australia. A second series entered production in May.

