Gladiators’ Wolf was believed to be dead after someone pretended to be him online.
Michael Van Wijk, 71, rose to fame for his role as Wolf on the hit ITV game show, appearing in all eight series from 1992 to 2000. His playful personality made him an instant hit with viewers and he is often regarded as the most beloved gladiator.
He found huge success after starring on Gladiators, which he previously admitted changed his life. But around 10 years after the series ended, the gym owner found himself subject of a hoax.
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Mike didn’t jump on the social media bandwagon when it first came out. In fact, the only reason he made an account was because someone was impersonating him on Facebook.
(Image: ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
He exclusively told Daily Star: “The only reason I started doing it was because somebody was copying me on Facebook. I’d never been on Facebook, but somebody was saying they were Wolf and answering all my fans and things like that.”
The star continued: “He then turned around and said something rude about someone in America, and the woman’s husband got on the phone and was like ‘What’s Mike saying about so and so’. I wasn’t even on Facebook!'”
The catfish was using printed pictures from magazines as he continued answering fans, until one of Mike’s friends stepped in. He said: “And then a friend of mine who is very computer savvy said he could hack their Facebook, so he told him to get a life and stop imitating me.”
(Image: Fabio De Paola/REX/Shutterstock)
But it didn’t stop there. Infuriated that he was forced to stop, the person behind the computer went on to claim that Mike had died.
“I had to bring out my own Facebook because he went on Wikipedia and said that I died in a boating accident in Auckland,” Mike said. “I had people ringing up my wife apologising because I’d died.”
The bodybuilder recently revealed he is still carrying an injury more than two decades after the series ended. Mike recalled injuring his back during Pyramid, which saw two contenders race up a 7.5 metre high pyramid with the objective of reaching the summit.
(Image: ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
Standing in their way were two, sometimes three gladiators, who would attempt to prevent them from reaching the top. With contenders and gladiators plummeting to the floor from a great height, it’s no surprise that this event caused several injuries.
Mike explained: “I’m still carrying an injury from pyramid. I landed awkwardly because my legs went one way and my body went the other. I had a contender in my arms and he was moving in mid-air and I was trying to land on the mats with him.” He added: “It still plays me up today. Every now and then it goes out and I have to go and see a chiropractor to put it back in.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
