From Gladiators to James Bond, Marvel and running strip clubs

Gladiators made a triumphant return to primetime TV last year and are back for a New Year’s Day special ahead of a new series.

But did you know that one of its 1990s stars has appeared in a Bond film and dozens of other films and TV shows – and now runs a lap-dancing club in Norwich?

“Have you ever thought about being a gladiator?”

This question was put to Des Crawford in the mid-1990s, not long after he had left the Royal Air Force.

He had found work as a striper, but it was not a long-term career option.

Then a friend suggested they try out for one of the hottest shows on television.

Standing 6ft 4in (1.93m) tall and muscular, he certainly looked right for a gladiator.

His impressive physique was honed through a rigorous training regime as an amateur boxer, once a contender for Britain’s Olympic team.

“It didn’t matter if it was Christmas Day, summer vacation or whatever; I still worked,” he says.

He admits that initially he was not keen on becoming a gladiator. “I didn’t like the show. I thought it was all fake and steroids and that.”

But Crawford successfully auditioned and won a role replacing Warrior, one of the original Gladiators. He was given his new identity: Diesel.

He has come a long way from what he describes as a rough childhood in Liverpool.

“As a young man I had nowhere else to live, so joining the army was my only choice or I might end up in jail,” he says.

“I think I made a better choice.”

Over the next 16 years, he was deployed around Europe, before his final role at RAF Neatishead in Norfolk.

But with cuts from the Ministry of Defence, he took redundancy.

Then came his stint with an all-male strip group and his big TV break.

Gladiators was past its prime in the ’90s and only lasted two more series after Crawford joined, but was still drawing huge crowds.

“It was quite an amazing feat. There were 10,000 people per episode,” he says.

Off the field, he used his new superhero status to travel the country with his fellow gladiator Cobra to interact with school children.

“Some of the kids who weren’t so lucky in life, from poor backgrounds – I connected with that very easily because that’s where I come from.”

Meanwhile, another gladiator dude, Vulcan – aka John Ciro – had a part in the latest James Bond film, The World Is Not Enough.

“You have to come to the studio now,” Cerve told her.

Crawford also had a chance to try out for a role.

“It was a closed set. It was just myself, Pierce Brosnan, who was James Bond at the time, and [actress] Sophie Marceau – [producer] Barbara Broccoli was there, too,” he remembers.

He played the part of a henchman working for Robbie Coltrane’s Russian gangster character.

It was a small role – he’s quickly snubbed by Bond, who then sips a vodka martini – but it led to more acting jobs.

A rock climber in Casualty. Part of a miniseries with a young Gerard Butler.

And then, Blade 2 – the sequel to the first major Marvel film.

Crawford’s character was part of an elite team of vampire fighters with whom Wesley Snipes’ blade reluctantly teamed up.

“I saw Wesley Snipes in Whitman Can’t Jump — and thought, ‘This is just reality,'” Crawford recalls.

After moving in part to the US, dozens more parts have followed.

“I’ve got 50 credits on IMDB,” says Crawford, who describes himself as a “jobbing actor.”

Most aren’t in well-known movies or shows, but the CGI characters they’ve inspired are high-profile.

He was motion-captured for Kratos in the early God of War PlayStation games – and also for Shere Khan in Disney’s remake of The Jungle Book, which grossed nearly $1bn at the box office.

Still a physical presence, though she refuses to say how old she is (“I’ve kept it a secret for a long time”), Crawford’s film work continues.

Her most recent role is in a faith-based film, which is an emerging genre in America.

The Carpenter sees a Viking orphan become an apprentice to Jesus, taking part in ancient pit battles (no, really).

“You can look at it as a fight movie or you can look at it as a religious movie,” says Crawford.

“Yes, ‘The Carpenter’ is there and he offers words of wisdom. But you can only see him as a character and see it as a fight film.”

Away from America, his home is in Norwich, where he has his lap dancing club, Sugar and Spice.

“I feel like I’ve come full circle, from being a dancer myself to actually being involved in the business side of it,” he says.

Although he acknowledges that such clubs carry a stigma, he insists that his venue is “light entertainment” and an inclusive space “trying to get away from the reputation of some lap-dancing clubs.”

“It’s a shame because there’s a minority of clubs that spoil it for other clubs,” he says.

“Thirty percent of our customers are women. We have wheelchair access; we have a lot of people in wheelchairs come in. We have deaf people; they can feel the boss, see the show.”

Away from table dancing and tinsel town, he looks back fondly on the show that gave him his big break and is happy that Gladiators is back on TV.

“It’s like a movie; the first one is always the best,” he says.

“But it’s great that it’s back. Now the kids can have another idol.

“You stick 14 or 15 people in Lycra and you make some superheroes; you’ve got fun for the whole family.”