Yahoo News Should Gladiators star Viper be axed over rule break?
The Gladiators villain was threatened with disqualification by the referee for knocking a contestant off the podium before the starting whistle
Gladiators villain Viper came under fire for breaking the rules in the latest episode of the gameshow.
Viper has been dubbed 'the new Wolf' after taking on the role of baddie in the BBC's new reboot of the 90s family entertainment show. The physical challenge game show sees contestants take on trained Gladiators in fitness challenges.
There was always a pantomime element to original show, and this has been continued in the reboot, with the Gladiators given 'characters' to channel, often staging challenges to the referee, and confrontations with the contestants.
Viper's rule breaking on Gladiators
On the latest episode of Gladiators, referee Mark Clattenburg restarted the Duel battle after Viper began before the whistle, knocking his opponent Ash Harwood, 29, straight off the raised podium.
The audience booed and commentator Guy Mowbray said: "Oh, Viper's gone early! You can't do that and there will have to be a restart! That is against the rules!" Referee Mark Clattenburg said: "Viper, what are you doing? You know the rules! You cannot hit before I start the game! Do you understand? Do you understand?"
The referee then threatened the Gladiator with disqualification if he broke the rules again. The Duel was restarted and Viper lost.
It's not the first time Viper has found himself in hot water with the referees. In the first episode of the BBC's reboot, Viper was disqualified from Collision Bridge after leaving his trapeze and landing on the bridge which was against the rules.
Do viewers like Viper?
There has been mixed reaction to Viper on social media. One viewer wrote on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter: "They should get rid of Viper completely, that twice he’s broken the rules now #gladiators" Another said: "They need to get rid of Viper. He’s been useless every event he’s done. He’s not even a good villain #Gladiators" And a third commented: "Viper is not very good is he! He's a long way from being like Wolf #gladiators"
But one viewer shared: "Loving Viper, bet the kids love him like we loved wolf back in the day #Gladiators" And another agreed: "Obsessed with Viper's bad boy bit and the drama. Oh how worked up I got at Wolf's shenanigans as a kid. Hilarious to see it as a adult love it! #Gladiators"
Who is Viper?
Quang Long, who competes as Viper, does not talk much on screen and appears bad tempered all the time as part of his pantomime villain role. Viper is said to have been named as such for his precision and fast reactions, and Long is an athlete athlete who has been training as a bodybuilder for 15 years.
He also boxes daily and is also a fitness model. He does have an acting background, appearing in several films, including as a soldier in a James Bond movie. Viper may be silent on sreent, but when the show launched Long said: “I was born to be a Gladiator. I am strong, powerful and just like a Viper I can attack with speed.”
Gladiators panto villain past
The original ITV Gladiators featured Michael Van Wijk as Wolf. The bodybuilder - who is now 71 and lives in New Zealand — has claimed it was his idea for his character to be the villain of the show but producers were unsure at first.
He recently told Yahoo: "They said, 'No everyone has to be squeaky clean and it's the image we got for children.' So I kept on and I said, 'Look, let me just do it for one show. If you don't like it, I promise, I'll never do it again. I'll never ask you again.' I said, 'One show, that's it.'
"I did it and the crowd erupted and I absolutely loved it. After that, it was like I'm the big bad wolf."
