Mugshot released of Gladiators’ Jefferson King following alleged blackmail plot

King was a fan favourite on the popular Nineties gameshow

Police have issued a mugshot of former Gladiators star Jefferson King, who is facing charges of blackmail and false imprisonment.

King is accused of demanding £1,000 last year from a mother in exchange for the safe return of her son who was allegedly being held hostage by a gang.

The former bodybuilder looked unidentifiable in the newly released police mugshot.

King’s Shadow was one of the original Gladiators featured when the series first aired on ITV in 1992.

Gladiators was a British sports entertainment game show that saw four contestants compete in a series of physical events against the series’ “Gladiators” in an effort to be crowned champion of their series.

In 1995, the London-born reality star was fired from the ITV show after testing positive for steroids.

“I felt like a leper after Gladiators. I was on the biggest programme there was – bigger than Blind Date and Noel’s House Party. People were rushing home to see Gladiators on a Saturday night,” he told Sunday People. 

(Issued by police)

“Then after I was fired… people saw me differently. It felt like I’d had a life and then all of a sudden I didn’t.”

Gladiators stopped airing in January 2001.