DANGER ZONE
OBJECTIVE
The Gladiator stands on a raised platform at one end of the arena armed with a tennis ball launcher which fires balls at 10 mph at the Contender.
The Contender is at the other end of the arena and their objective is to hit a target above the Gladiators head using weapons at four evenly placed stations.
While under-fire from the Gladiator the Contender must fire each weapon within 10 seconds as the stations self-destruct every 10 seconds.
If the Contender has made it through to all the stations without being hit or hitting the Gladiators target, they can dive through a perspex cylinder to punch a target lower down.
FACTS
The Gladiator had 24 balls with which to hit the Contender.
The initial line up of weapons was Crossbow, Bazooka, Mortar, Rocket Launcher. From 1993 (Series 2) onwards it was Crossbow, Bazooka, Rocket Launcher, Mortar.
In 1992 (Series 1), a Contender would score 10 points if they hit the target below the Gladiator. From 1993 (Series 2) onwards they received just 5 points.
If a Gladiator hit the Contender between the exit of the tunnel and the lower target the shot does not count.
In 1992 (Series 1), the Gladiator wore protective body armour. This was discarded in 1993 (Series 2), but then brought back in 1994 (Series 3).
In 1992 (Series 1), the Gladiator was attached to a harness and would be lifted in the air if the Contender hit the top or bottom target. This was discarded in 1993 (Series 2) in favour of a fireworks display.
The theme music for this Event was changed in 1993 (Series 2).
From 1993 (Series 2) onwards, the stations were evenly spaced out with stations 1 and 3 being parallel and 2 and 4 being parallel and station 4 being moved further away from the tunnel.
This was the only original Event never to appear in an International show, although it was featured in two Celebrity Specials.
The Event once had to be abandoned when the Gladiator's (Falcon) Tennis Ball Launcher failed to fire and The Wall played instead.
This was the only Event in which for its whole run, the same Gladiator would face both Contenders.
This was the only Event from 1992 (Series 1) not to feature in the 1999 (Series 8) finale.
