The Gladiators’ Cyclone spoke to David Hennessy as the series returns to BBC.
Gladiators is back and that means Cyclone, the show’s first ever Irish Gladiator who was added to the show for last year’s series, has returned in even more unforgiving mood.
From Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford Cyclone (23) is an accomplished powerlifter and world record holder.
The show sees members of the public pitted against the ‘superhuman’ Gladiators in events designed to test speed and strength.
It was a hit when ITV first brought it to British screens in the 1990s. After decades off the air, aside from a short lived Sky reboot in the late 2000s, this is the third series of the new BBC edition.
We caught up with Cyclone recently to talk about the show’s return.
How does it feel to be returning with one series under your belt now?
“It definitely feels different coming into this series.
“I think I always had the confidence in myself but now I’m confident in how everything works, confident in the games, confident in the rules, where I stand with the other Gladiators.
“There’s a lot more stress off my shoulders coming into this series for sure.”
Although you didn’t show it, were there nerves and apprehension for you going into the show for the 2025 series?
“I deal with nerves differently than most people, I would say.
“In a sense I wasn’t nervous because I knew what my capabilities were with the games and I knew I just had to do it.
“If you explain it to me once, then I can do something with it and then learn from there, so I wasn’t too nervous last year but I do definitely feel the difference coming into this year being super secure with everything.”
For this new series, are you taking it to the next level?
“1,000%.
“The other Gladiators are.
“The contenders are as well.
“People think we’re going get better just because we have two series behind our backs but in theory, it probably is better for the contenders because they have two series to watch, do their homework on, see how we’re moving, see how we play specific games.
“The contenders being brought in are stronger and they’re much better at the games too which means we have to up our ante as well.
“But I think because it was my first series (last year), I was chilling a little bit but this series it’s like, ‘Okay, I’m established now. I can start making some trouble’.”
Really, that was you chilling? I saw a clip of you in the trailer for the new show saying that you have a lot of ‘internal rage’ so you’re clearly not letting up on those contenders..
“Not at all.
“I’d say, after Viper, I probably have the least amount of compassion for the contenders because they applied to come to the show so realistically, it’s fair game.”
Have you ever thought about what it would be like to be a contender yourself?
“I’d love to be a contender.
“I was saying that on the live tour.
“And that’s the thing we were all arguing about.
“We were like, ‘Who would make the best contender and who would win?’
“But I think being a contender is difficult.
“I’ll give credit to them.
“They have to do the five games and the Eliminator after which sounds like hell on your body and mentally but I think it would be fun to just do it for a day.
“I’d do it against another Gladiator as well, to see how I size up in comparison.
“I would do that for fun.”
What is going to be new for this series?
“We do have three new games and they’re very good games.
“I think people are going to take very well to them and when you have new games, you literally have a whole new permutation of Gladiators doing a completely different thing.
“Because now you’ve seen me playing Unleash, you’ve seen Fire doing Duel so you kind of know what to expect with a lot of those games but with new games, you get to see all the different Gladiators trying it out and seeing how they take to it.”
Watching the Celebrity special that aired around Christmas time, I was struck by how Nicola Adams was quickly dispatched in her Duel so if a gold medal Olympian boxer gets a rude awakening there, it show what any man or woman from the general public is letting themselves in for..
“Exactly and it does give you perspective but I think also the other thing people fail to realise that everyone’s disciplines are different.
“Nicola is used to being in a boxing ring, using her hands and having gloves on but with Duel, you have to keep your hands still and you’re hitting with something else so it does show that the show is so hyper specific with the games and if you haven’t done it before, it’s so hard to translate your usual skills into it which gives us an edge.”
In that same show you chased Vogue Williams in The Wall in what was an all- Ireland clash with you coming out victorious..
“I had to do it for Wexford.
“And it was my first time on The Wall actually.
“I didn’t do The Wall in the first series so I would say it was nerve wracking but because I knew I was against Vogue, I didn’t think it was going to be too difficult to be honest.”
Who would be your dream person to see come on a celebrity special of the show?
“There’s so many people.
“I’d love Stormzy to be on it.
“I just think he’d be great because he’s just this big, massive guy.
“He’s a rapper so he doesn’t even have any sort of athletic ability, I’m not sure.
“He’d be great and then Angryginge.
“He was on I’m a Celebrity Get me out of Here with Vogue and he’s just amazing.
“He gets super angry so I think they would just be super entertaining.
“When we have the celeb specials, it’s really athletes.
“Obviously Nicola is an athlete but it’s great to have someone like Sam Thompson who’s just up for anything, up for a laugh.
“It just makes it really entertaining.
“They’re not sore losers.
“They’re down to just kind of enjoy the experience too, so I think that’s always good.”
I remember you saying last year you felt Duel was your specialty event but we’ve seen you do so well with other events too, I wondered would you still say that about Duel or is that you even have more than one specialty now?
“I would say I have a few specialties.
“Powerball, for sure.
“I think Powerball is probably my highest performing game.
“It is my favourite game as well just because there’s so many dimensions to it: There’s tackling, there’s changing direction, there’s speed, there’s stamina and it’s just such an unreal one to watch.
“And it’s very simple: You have the five different baskets that the contenders have to put the ball in.
“But there’s just so much that happens, so I would say that one is probably my highest performing and my favourite coincidentally.”
What’s been a highlight of your time on the show so far?
“I would say when me, Dynamite and Diamond did a complete shut out with Powerball where no one scored any points.
“That was unreal.
“That just felt like it wasn’t even Gladiators anymore.
“It was like sports on ESPN.
“It genuinely felt like we were athletes in the Super Bowl.
“It was insane.”
As you said you did a live tour late last year, what was it like to have that interaction with the live crowds around the country? Was it good to see the excitement for the show everywhere you went?
“1,000%, to sell out venues that Beyonce and Bruno Mars have performed at is a crazy concept and it definitely was different to filming because with filming, we’re actually focusing on it going out to other people but in the live shows, it was just about the audience so you can really interact with the audience and it moves quicker.
“It was really good to do.”
It must be good to interact with fans, especially young ones, as your message has been about inspiring young girls to take up space and not be apologetic about it..
“It’s difficult because Cyclone is a bit of a controversial character naturally, the way I am which I do like.
“Some people don’t take to her and that’s completely fine.
“Some people are like, ‘Yeah, she’s amazing, love her’, which I think makes a great character because you get to decide which side you’re on.
“But it is nice.
“She is a very intense character so it is nice hyping the crowd up and getting them gassed.
“Cyclone is a character for that: Even if you don’t like me, you’re going to enjoy watching me in this game.
“We’re all on the same side.”
I wouldn’t describe you as a villain myself but are you comfortable with some putting that label on you?
“Yeah, completely fine because it doesn’t really change the character, does it?
“It’s all entertainment and I think as well it’s just interesting because I would say more of a baddie because there’s that intensity to it which some people mistake for villainy.
“There’s cheeky remarks but it’s really not that deep.
“She just loves competition and there’s always going to be a bit of clashing, a bit of trash talk.
“It’s just sport, isn’t it?”
Do you get a sense of Irish people getting really excited about having one of their own on the show?
“Yes and it was overwhelming originally because when it first went out, I was getting text messages from my old teachers from school and old people I used to go to school with.
“It was genuinely wild.
“Obviously I live in the UK now but it was unreal to see how happy people were.
“It was really nice.”
The programme has seen a number of Irish contenders including series one winner Marie-Louise Nicholson..
“I think it’s cool more Irish people getting involved.
“I’ve seen a lot of stuff online about Irish people wanting us to do meet and greets and do events in Ireland because we don’t do anything in Ireland right now, it’s all in the UK but there is an audience growing there so that’s something I will definitely be pushing for in the future which I’ve said as well to production.
“I think it would be cool to do something in Ireland and cultivate the audience there and give them the opportunity to see us and meet us and do whatever it is.”
Cyclone (real name Lystus Ebosele) and her brother is Republic of Ireland footballer Festy Ebosele.
Was there a huge emphasis on your sport in your house growing up as two of you have excelled so much?
“I think we were all very athletic but growing up, I was the academic one and he was the sporty one.
“So when it came to good grades, that was me and he got the terrible grades and got in trouble all the time. He was the one always going to training and stuff.
“I did do athletics growing up too so I suppose both of us were always very naturally strong, very naturally athletic thank you very much to our dads and our mam’s genes.
“But as I grew older is when I fell into more of the sporty side of things.”
Do people recognise you when you’re out and about and obviously not in leotard etc?
“Sometimes, the die hard fans will.
“I remember this little girl was pulling her family along like ‘That’s Cyclone, that’s Cyclone, we need to get closer to her’, and then she finally caught up with me in a shopping centre.
“But I think because my look changes the most out of the show, it’s difficult for me to be recognised.
“I do find that with the girls because with the boys don’t really have much makeup on and they’re humongous.
“You’d see Apollo and Bionic from a mile away.
“Anytime I’m with them, they get just bombarded with people.
“The girls, since we’re smaller in general and because I have a different hair, different look, it’s harder for people to recognise.
“Some people will be like, ‘Are you..? I feel like I recognise you from somewhere…’”
What do you think makes a Gladiator?
“I would say after being the top of our respective sports, I think it’s the mindset and how we carry ourselves too.
“They’re very specific about not just entertainment value and athletic value but people who are inspirational and people who treat others with kindness, have a sense of leadership, a sense of quiet confidence that can represent the brand well too.
“I think those are huge parts I feel like people don’t really see as much.”
Do you think a show like this with such an emphasis in sport being on prime time TV could play a part in inspiring some to get off that sofa, do some exercise, maybe not to go on Gladiators but just for the good of their health?
“Yes and I think that’s one thing that makes the show what it is.
“When we do meet and greets and a parent is like, ‘Wow, you inspire my little daughter to go out and train and do her sports’, that’s the most touching thing and that’s the best thing about the show outside of everything else.
“I think especially with the young children seeing Bionic or seeing Fire and being like, ‘Wow, I want to be like that when I grow up’ it’s such a positive thing because it’s like, ‘I want to be strong. I want to be confident. I want to be a strong runner. I want to be really fast’.
“I think that aspect is really beautiful and it’s really touching with the show.”
What excites you about the show going forward?
“Seeing how we’re getting better, we’re learning more.
“I don’t think people appreciate how little time we do get to prep for events and do the events so sometimes we’re kind of going in to the same level as the contenders.
“Obviously there’s disparity in the strength aspect and stuff but we’re going in, not having much practice and we’re not used to that as athletes.
“Usually, as an athlete, if you’re a power lifter, you’re a sprinter, you power lift and you sprint 10,000 times before you ever step on the platform so it’s cool to see how we’re growing and how you’re growing within events, learning how to play it better, how to make it more entertaining, how to make it more fast paced is always quite interesting.
“And we’re also growing as a group as well.
“We’re getting so much closer which is ideal.
“We spend so much time outside of the Gladiators space together which will always make it a better show because we’re getting on better.
“I think for me, those are the main things that make it really exciting.”
Gladiators continues on BBC1 on Saturdays and BBC iPlayer.
