With the new series of Gladiators hitting our screens we’re taking a look at all the new stars who’ll be stepping into the arena ready to take on the new generation of contenders. Apollo, named after the Greek God, is one of the new Gladiators that we’re excited to see in action. Behind the persona is Alex Gray, a former rugby and NFL athlete who is raring to get in that arena and show everyone what he’s made of.
The first thing contenders will notice when they take on Apollo is his height, with the guy coming in at a towering 6’ 6” tall! And he’ll be using that to his advantage in any way he can, along with his 73cm arm length.
He’ll also be leaning on his sporting background as he fights to keep the contenders in their place. And it’s a pretty impressive background, having played rugby in the Premiership and England 7s teams. He started his rugby career playing for the England Under 16s team, and he went on to captain that team as well as the under 18s and under 20s teams.
Apollo then went on to make waves in the NFL after he was scouted for his impressive skillset in rugby. He was the first British rugby player to transfer over to the NFL, signing for the Atlanta Falcons, and he went on to become the first international player to Captain an NFL team!
Along with his sporting prowess Apollo is bringing a whole lot of enthusiasm to the Gladiators arena. He was a massive fan of the show during its original run, saying in a recent BBC interview ‘I was absolutely mad for Gladiators as a kid. My mum says all plans were cancelled for the Saturdays that Gladiators was on TV, as there would be absolute hell to pay if me and my brothers couldn’t watch it’.
He also revealed that he had goosebumps when he first arrived at the Gladiators arena, calling everything in the place ‘epic’, from the Rings to the famous Travelator. Reassuring fans of the original show, he said, “everyone watching will be very happy to know that this series of Gladiators has a very similar feel to the original show, but with an extreme face lift”.
You can follow all the behind the scenes action from Apollo on his Insta @appollo_thegladiator, and you can find out more about the man behind the costume on his personal account @alexander_thegrayt.
In a recent post on that account he shared a promo photo of himself all decked out as Apollo with the caption, “’The time has come…. Tomorrow, Apollo the God of the Sun will enter the arena for the first time to do battle. I can’t wait. GLADIATOR READY!’
And we’re ready too to see what this guy can do when he takes to the arena!
