Soldiers, ready: Royal Engineers soldiers with the Gladiators foam hands
The revamped version of Gladiators proved a big hit for Sky One, but it seems its success was not just confined to the UK - the show has also become cult viewing among British troops stationed in Iraq. Monkey received an email from Shaun Haggerty, the father of a soldier serving with the Royal Engineers in Basra, saying his daughter Becky and her fellow troops watched the show every week on British Forces TV and wanted to get hold of some of the big foam hands sported by the crowd. Never one to let his public down, Sky One controller Richard Woolfe and his head of PR Chris Aylott came to the rescue and promptly shipped out 20 of the big foam blighters to Iraq. The consignment made it safely to Basra where, as these pictures show, the lads and lasses are making good use of the gifts. Monkey can feel a Gladiators versus the Royal Engineers special coming on!
