“Contender ready! Gladiator ready!”
Athletics coach John Anderson became famous for his no-nonsense approach and unforgettable catchphrases on Gladiators in the 1990s.
Anderson lived in Errol with his wife Dorothy when Gladiators originally aired on ITV at 6.20pm on a prime time Saturday night schedule which included Catchphrase, Blind Date and Beadle’s About.
Four contestants competed against the Gladiators in a series of events to gain points for a head start. Then the final Eliminator challenge at the end decided who was the champion.
The show was an instant hit with challenges like The Wall, Pyramid, Hang Tough, Gauntlet and Duel.
Anderson’s iconic instructions were repeated in school playgrounds up and down the country: “Contenders, you will go on my first whistle. Gladiators, you will go on my second whistle.”
He may have been dwarfed by the hulks who became cult figures on TV, but when the Gladiators took to the ring, there was no doubt who was in charge.
Anderson was born and bred in the tough Gorbals area of Glasgow.
Nobody messed with him.
Athletics career was ‘pure chance’
In a forgotten interview with the Evening Telegraph in 1994 he told how he was asked to be the referee on Gladiators in 1992.
He said: “I got a call from a friend who is also a member of the British Institute of Sports Coaches.
“He told me that a TV producer was looking for someone to evaluate big strong
guys to find out if they were not only real physical specimens but could move about
and perform well in games.
“He thought I knew more than anyone about that kind of testing, so he asked me to go down to Aldershot.”
‘A lot of flesh about’ in Gladiators gym
Anderson’s entry into the world of athletics coaching was a result of pure chance.
He was teaching in a school in the East End of Glasgow when the elderly PE teacher asked him to look after a girls’ relay team: they won everything in sight.
Anderson’s involvement with athletics took off from there.
During his career, Anderson was coach to some of the best athletes the sport has produced like David Jenkins, Dave Moorcroft, and, of course, Liz McColgan.
Anderson said there was “lots of meat and flesh about” when he arrived at the gym in Aldershot to meet the applicants for Gladiators.
“They were enormous, and towered over me, but I devised a series of tests for them,” he said.
“These guys are all very fit for things such as body building, but not fit to run marathons, for example.
“Of the kind of games they were going to be involved in, none was going to last more than one minute, and they were all anaerobic in nature, therefore I had
to test their ability to get around at speed and recover quickly.”
Qualified PE teacher John Anderson mocked Gladiators
“They were really quite demanding tests for these big guys.”
“In the process of doing all this, I was cavorting around, cajoling, shouting and generally larking about.
“I remember one time nearly taking my life in my hands.
“I was testing them on the ropes, and I climbed up.
“Of course, I’m much lighter, so I got up there a lot quicker than they did.
“I also knew how to do it well technically, given that I’m a qualified PE teacher.
“So there I was, standing at the top, shouting abuse at these big guys because I had made it and they were struggling!
“I guess I’m lucky they didn’t take revenge!”
Anderson gave Wolf his big chance on Gladiators
The Gladiators sported stage names like Hunter, Lightning, Jet, Rhino and Zodiac.
Anderson himself encouraged producer Nigel Lithgoe to include one “big guy” in particular in the Gladiators line up.
Originally doubtful, Lithgoe agreed.
The “big guy” turned out to be Wolf who became the most popular of them all.
Anderson was then invited to become director of training for the programme, working with both the Gladiators and the contenders in Birmingham during filming.
He was told they were seeking a top English football referee as the man in the middle.
Two days before he was due to travel to Birmingham, Anderson received a phone call.
The producer asked him to be the referee and he said yes.
He had thought his refereeing exploits would all take place off screen.
At first, John Anderson didn’t realise he would be on camera
The first he realised he too would be in front of the camera was when he was asked to go for a fitting for his uniform.
Anderson said: “I couldn’t believe it, but I have to admit it’s great.
“I thoroughly enjoy the whole thing and it’s given me another dimension to the training schedule.”
A referee’s task is never an easy one.
“When things are straight-forward then it’s okay,” he said.
“But when the unexpected happens I’ve really got to think on my feet.
“And I have to remember the demands of television and how blowing the whistle too often can disrupt the continuity.”
Anderson was no stranger to controversy away from the Gladiators ring.
He sued Liz McColgan for £75,000 after she dropped him as her coach and the case was settled out of court in 1992 but they never spoke to each other again.
Anderson’s Fife ‘duel’ shocked Kingdom’s golfers
He landed in the rough when he left Errol and moved into a £220,000 home overlooking the 14th hole at Pitreavie Golf Club in Dunfermline in 1996.
Home buyers on the estate could apply for membership of the club but his bid was refused because of complaints he was walking his dog on the course.
He further antagonised members by cycling on the course before putting his house on the market in 1999 and moving south of the border to be nearer family.
Gladiators was cancelled in 2000 after eight series.
Anderson was referee when a revival later turned up on Sky in 2008.
The show returned to the airwaves on BBC One in 2024 with a new generation of Gladiators and ex-Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg taking the whistle.
Reality was suspended when Clattenburg also put on a Scottish accent!
The original Gladiators referee is now 92 and living in Leicestershire.
James Crossley – who was Hunter – recently shared some highlights from his time on the programme in the 1990s after watching the latest reboot of the show.
A clip he uploaded to Instagram featured Anderson back in his trademark Gladiators referee uniform and delivering his legendary catchphrase and countdown.
It was pure nostalgia.
Bringing back memories of the days when his dulcet Scottish tones reverberated through millions of living rooms on Saturday nights.
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