Inside the life of Gladiators’ Saracen and his partner Chrissie who were both on the show in 1992 and are now happily married

Original Gladiators cast member Saracen went on to marry one of the very first contestants on the show.

Michael Lewis – who became known as the King of Hang Tough – is happily married to Chrissie Mullings, who was in the fifth episode of ITV’s original version of the sports entertainment show.

Gladiators is being rebooted tonight for a BBC series with a brand new cast of fitness fanatics ready to compete against brave members of the public, 24 years after the show’s last series aired.

Mike and Chrissie were already in a relationship when they both signed up for series one of the show in 1992.

While Chrissy, then 31, grew into a competitor, Mike, then 29, was so impressive that he was brought in as one of the full-timers.

Chrissie Mullings (pictured with Mike on set for the 2023 reboot) lost her heat in episode five of the first series to eventual female winner – Vanda Fairchild

At the time they applied, Mike was working at a gym in London, while Chrissy was a typographer.

The pair did not appear in the same episode and Chrissie lost to her competitor Vanda Fairchild – who would become the female champion that year – thus losing a second chance to appear with her boyfriend.

It might have been confusing if they did, as Mike revealed years later that all Gladiators were “forced” by producers to be addressed solely in character once they entered the arena.

Both appear to have remained active after the show, when Mike became a real-life superhero and left the spandex behind for firefighting gear.

‘The one and only’ Saracen showcased his preserved physique in an albeit disappointing performance on ITV’s Ninja Warrior UK in 2015.

The same year, when Mike and Chrissie were happily married, Chrissie won an ActiveWestminster award for outstanding contribution to sport and physical activity.

The award aims to ‘recognize the communities and individuals who make the city of Westminster a great place to get and stay active’.

Mike congratulated his wife on Facebook, writing: ‘Congratulations to my beautiful wife Chrissie Mullings-Lewis. This was the third time Chrissie had been nominated for this award.”

The couple still can’t shake their connection to Gladiators more than three decades after they signed on, with the show’s X account, formerly known as Twitter, posting a photo of them on set for the filming of the reboot in June 2023.

Saracen also occasionally appears elsewhere on TV, for Sport Relief, and has also made guest appearances on This Morning in the past.

Mike applied to appear on the ITV show with his then girlfriend, and was so impressive that he was included in the full-time cast as ‘the one and only’ Saracen.