Gladiators legend Wolf revealed that his male co-stars took full advantage of the female attention they received during the height of their fame.
The 70-year-old, whose real name is Michael Van Wijk, became a household name after starring as Wolf on the ITV game show from 1992 to 2000.
At its peak, the hugely popular entertainment programme attracted millions of viewers and catapulted the professionals to national stardom.
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The TV icon spoke exclusively to Daily Star and explained his shock at how the show became an overnight success.
“I don’t think people thought it would take off how it did. It went from zero to 100,” Mike said.
(Image: REX/Shutterstock)
The bodybuilder added: “I went from being able to go shopping in the mall to not being able to do that anymore. Next thing there would be 200 people around me.”
It’s hardly surprising that the UK gladiators’ overnight stardom went hand in hand with plenty of attention from admiring fans.
Mike revealed the other gladiators, who were single and significantly younger than him during filming, took full advantage of their newfound celebrity status – but it sometimes came at a price.
(Image: ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
“What a lot of the other gladiators did, and they made the mistake of doing it because they were single, they were taking advantage of what they could do,” the gym owner admitted.
Mike continued: “Every show I did, my wife stayed in the hotel with me and we’d order room service and watch a movie, so I’d be up and fresh the next day to perform. But how you perform decides whether you come back next year.
“And then we get up in the morning to go to breakfast and we’d see girls in evening dresses leaving the other gladiators rooms. Then we’d be down at breakfast and they would be like, ‘Oh, I’ve been up all night. I’m shattered’.”
(Image: Press Association)
Mike explained that their wild antics meant they would often perform badly, leading producers to drop and replace them for someone else for the following series.
“You had to treat it like a professional athlete,” he explained. “You can do whatever you want afterwards, take advantage of being a celebrity.
He went on to say: “But don’t do during the filming because all you’re doing is destroying yourself to get into a future show.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
