INTERVIEW
James ‘Hunter’ Crossley tells Closer he’s still in touch with exes Ulrika Jonsson and Jet – and offers advice to the new stars
He was one of the best known Gladiators from the original ’90s BBC series, having famously dated host Ulrika Jonsson and fellow cast member Jet. And James Crossely, aka Hunter, tells Closer that he’s still in touch with his former flames.
He says, “I’m still in touch with both Ulrika and Diane [Youdale –Jet’s real name]! I recently did a podcast with Diane, it was great to catch up with her. And Ulrika and I both have bulldogs, so we bond over that.”
LIFETIME MANTRA
Gladiators is back in the headlines as the iconic show has been rebooted, with the first episode proving a huge hit and attracting 6.3 million viewers. But James warns the new raft of Gladiators are in for a rough ride. He says, “These Gladiators are all brand new, they’ll be finding their feet and the first year will be difficult… I’m sure that will all come as the show flows.
“During the first year, a director actually came up to me and said, ‘Hunter, you’re s**t’. As abody builder, I’d never even run for a bus!
“My dad used to say to me, ‘Fail to prepare, prepare to fail’ –that’s been a lifetime mantra for me and that’s what the games are like.”
Now, after training twice a day for seven years during his time on the show, James says that at 50, he still likes to take care of himself.
He adds, “I train five days a week and I’m in pretty good shape.”
Joining the show as the youngest Gladiator at just 19 (22 years younger than “bad guy” Wolf), James says the catalyst for his road to stardom started when he was bullied as a child.
TRANSFORMATIONAL
He says, “One of my neighbours bullied me quite a bit because I was younger, smaller and weaker. People took advantage of that. I think it really affect
