“Contenders, you will go on my first whistle.”- If these words don’t strike excitement into your very soul then frankly, you are probably dead. As a kid, watching Gladiators was what Saturday night was all about. That and wondering why we were sat indoors on a Saturday night. But is there movie potential amongst the foam paddles, the giant hamster cages and rippling lycra? Apparently so.

Screenwriter Peter Illiff (of Varity Blues and Point Break) has been signed up to create the next big blockbuster; Gladiators: The Movie. Before you spit out your mouthguard in excitement, it’s important to clarify that it’s a film based on the American Gladiators. There’ll be no action from Trojan, Jet, Rhino or any of the British favourites, we’re afraid.

“What’s the story? Dear GOD what is it?!?”- We hear you feverishly rise up and cry as one. Well to be honest, team Gladiator are being fairly cagey about that so far. We can tell you that it will centre on the Gladiators as superheroes, (a real shame, considering we’ve always wanted to see Wolf as a down-on-his-luck hairdresser), and that original Gladiators creator Johnny Ferraro will produce the film. He anticipates that it will be “a compelling story”. That’s a weight off. All we can hope is that these creative geniuses stay true to their roots. Exploding cars and exciting gadgets are fine and everything, but nothing says edge-of-your-seat action like two men angrily jabbing giant cotton buds in each other’s faces.