Will King Charles feel the power of the Gladiators?

It was somehow rather apt that the return of the classic TV show, Gladiators, should be announced in the same week as King Charles’s coronation.

Had the Archbishop of Canterbury been indisposed, it would have been easy to imagine original Gladiators referee, John Anderson, stepping in, to bellow: “Charles, ready?!”

To which the answer would presumably have been: “I’ve been ready for decades!”

Despite the coronation buzz, the royals find themselves in a bit of a muddle just now. Queen Elizabeth II, the great stabilising force, has gone; and the family cracks are suddenly in full view, and widening. The popularity of the entire institution has waned dramatically as dirty royal linen is aired in public. It all feels very early Nineties – which is why getting Gladiators back on our screens feels quite so apposite.

When it first appeared, back in 1992, Gladiators was – among young boys anyway – a sensation. The games were genuinely exciting, dangerous even; the wrestling-style bantz between gladiators and competitors was joyously daft; and John Fashanu and Ulrika Johnson made for a surprisingly compelling presenter double-act.

My favourite parts of the show were those that involved tennis balls being fired from bazooka-style guns: that seemed a lot more fun than being physically pulled from some high rings in the Hang Tough event. I wouldn’t have minded a go at Atlaspheres though, or Duel. Wolf was obviously the best gladiator, cleverly walking the line between pantomime villain and (apparently) genuine menace.

During its early seasons, I was hooked. Then again, there wasn’t a lot of choice – even a fifth TV channel was some years away. For me and my brother, the ideal Saturday evening involved burgers, chips, Noel’s House Party and Gladiators. They were simpler times, but we knew no better. Never mind that the country was going to the dogs; again, not unlike today…

As to whether the Gladiators re-boot will be as successful as its original incarnation remains to be seen. Bradley Walsh, who is no stranger to TV revivals, has been lined up to present alongside his son, Barney. The first of the new gladiators have also been announced, with rugby player Jodie Ounsley to become Fury (good name!), while fitness influencer Zack George will be Steel (oh dear). John Anderson is now 91, so I presume he won’t be getting his black and white striped top out of the wardrobe.

Another TV favourite from the same era, Challenge Anneka, returned earlier this year for a couple of episodes on Channel 5; but two further shows were pulled from the schedules, apparently to be shown at a later date, amid some reported angst about audience numbers. The big question for all these reboots is whether they can actually pull in new viewers, rather than just be nostalgia trips for those of us who remember them the first time round.

My own children barely watch normal telly anymore, and I know they are not unusual in that respect. They’ll sit for hours watching memes and morons on YouTube, but an hour-long, scheduled show seems beyond them. Perhaps Gladiators will appeal to my hyper-competitive, eight-year-old son: it certainly seems a better bet for a new audience than Anneka’s challenges.

Whether the monarchy can pull in decent ratings in its new guise is an equally interesting question. The original Gladiators first aired when the royals were at their lowest ebb, with Charles and Diana officially announcing their separation two months later. The next few years saw any number of challenges for “The Firm”, culminating in Princess Diana’s death in 1997.

The resurgence in the monarchy’s popularity over the subsequent decade was partly the result of some clever PR, and in part too by a more general mood of optimism in the UK as a whole. Primarily though it was driven by the late Queen’s personal appeal: and the older she got, the more admired she became.

King Charles may be able to repeat the trick, perhaps by demonstrating the same commitment to service that his mother showed – but it may prove harder than reaching the top of the Gladiators’ infamous travelator.