Gladiators legend John Anderson has died at the age of 92, it has been confirmed.
Anderson was the show’s original referee and appeared right from when it began in 1992 until 2000.
His booming voice was heard in households across the country as viewers have known and loved him for his catchphrase, ‘Contenders, ready! Gladiators, ready!’ followed by, ‘Three! Two! One!’ before every event.
As reported by Athletics Weekly, Anderson died in the early hours of Sunday (July 28).
One of the first people to pay tribute was Dave Moorcroft, a former runner who was coached by Anderson.
Moorcroft was one of Anderson’s most famous pupils and biggest success stories.
Having worked with Anderson since the age of 16, Moorcroft went on to break the 5,000m world record in Oslo in 1982 with 13:00.41.
Praising Anderson, the 71-year-old said: ‘I can’t speak too highly of John.
‘He turned water into wine. At our club (Coventry Godiva) we’d never had anybody break four minutes for mile, but not only did I do it but Tim Redman, Colin Ridding and Steve James all broke four minutes.
‘I don’t think any of them would describe themselves as world beaters, but John just got the best out of people. I’m certain that I would never have been a decent athlete if it wasn’t for John. Not just because of the training he gave me, but he took a shy kid who didn’t believe in himself and just had that amazing ability to believe in me and others.
‘He would die for his athletes and he never took a step backwards. He was a fighter in everything he did. He coached me from the age of 16 and never took a penny. It cost him a fortune for the privilege of working for nothing.’
Indeed, before being shot to fame on Gladiators, Anderson was a gifted coach who helped track and field athletes reach their full potential.
It is estimated that, throughout his decades-long coaching career, Anderson worked with over 170 Team Great Britain athletes.
As well as Moorcroft, he coached Olympic heptathlete Judy Simpson and Olympic middle-distance finalist Sheila Carey.
He also helped Liz McColgan win the Olympic 10,000m silver in 1988.
At one point in his career, he worked briefly with distance running legend Dave Bedford, as well as Scottish endurance runners John Graham and Lynne MacDougall.
Anderson was born and raised in Glasgow, Scotland, later living in Nuneaton for a spell before moving to Corby.
As for his Gladiators role, Anderson briefly reprised his duties as referee on the newly-revived Gladiators in 2008.
After the stint, he left due to returning from TV refereeing, with John Coyle replacing him.
Only one more series followed as the revival was not renewed for a third.
Anderson made other small cameos as a referee after retiring, including guest appearances on two episodes of Top Gear in 2016 with Chris Evans and Matt LeBlanc.
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He also served as an ident-voiceover for Sky’s Challenge TV.