Hear Warren's Story on 22 September 2024
One of the stars of the iconic 1990s game show ‘Gladiators’ will be sharing his story at Holy Trinity Wandsworth on Sunday 22 September 2024 at our 10:30AM service.
For eight years Warren Furman showed his strength as ‘Ace’ to millions of viewers every Saturday night on ITV. “It was phenomenal, we were aware we were part of something iconic.” The now 51-year-old, who lives in SW London with his wife Dionne, 51, and children said he entered the show an “unemployed lad from Essex living in a youth hostel”.
But as the series gained popularity, he lived the high life and was engaged to model Katie Price. “Life was just high octane. I was on top of the world,” he said. Despite the fame and fortune, Warren said the life “had its drawbacks”. “The more I got, the less it satisfied, that became clear quite quickly,” he said. Celebrity life started to take its toll on him. “I started to believe I was Ace, that I was better than people,” Warren explained. He described the life as a “double edged sword” and said there was “no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow”.
Gladiators came to an end in 2000, with Warren finding out from the front of a newspaper. “It was one of the best things that happened to me,” he admitted. After the show, he went on a “spiritual search”. “When that show ended my whole identity came down,” he said. He studied eastern religions but became interested in Christianity after meeting businessman and philanthropist Julian Richer, the founder of Richer Sounds. Richer suggested he should go on an Alpha course to explore the Christian faith and it eventually led to him becoming a Christian. On finding his faith, he said: “It was incredible. Before I was always trying to prove myself. I had a good life, but I was in a rat race.” Now he describes himself as a “gladiator for the gospel”.
This summer he was ordained as a Church of England Cleric at St Paul’s Cathedral, along with his wife Dionne.
Gladiators returned to screens earlier this year on BBC. The winner of the female contestants was Marie-Louise, a CrossFit instructor who works in Wandsworth.
Holy Trinity Wandsworth (on the A3, next to the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability) will be running Alpha this in October and November 2024. Alpha is a series of weekly sessions where you can explore the Christian faith in an open-minded and welcoming environment. There's no cost, and no pressure! Just lots of great conversation and space to think. Each session includes food, a short film, and a discussion where you can share your thoughts. More than 28 million people have attended Alpha globally with over 5 million people in the UK trying Alpha.
Sign up for Alpha at Holy Trinity Wandsworth: