Presenters, ready?

The hype is slowly building around Sky One's resurrected Gladiators, with the 12 new pugle stick bashers due to be unveiled in the middle of next month. Insiders have said that more men applied to be gladiators than women and producers are now having the difficult job of whittling down a long list. A very long, long list, if the number of calls Monkey fielded from wannabe gladiators is anything to go by. Speculation is also swirling around who will present the show, with the front runners to become the new John Fashanu and Ulrika Jonsson being former footballer Ian Wright and GMTV's Jenni Falconer. According to insiders, Bionic Woman actress Michelle Ryan was also approached and was interested in the role. The former EastEnders star is at something of a loose end following the effective cancellation of Bionic Woman by NBC. However, she eventually declined as the show would clash with the US pilot season and she didn't want to get typecast as a "presenter". Monkey thinks the Bionic Woman fronting Gladiators would have been the perfect synergy. Falconer had better get down that gym.