Travelators, Tinseltown and table dancing: A Gladiator's journey

Daz Crawford's varied career has led to roles in some major Hollywood movies

Gladiators made a triumphant return to prime-time TV last year and is back for a New Year's Day special, ahead of a new series.

But did you know that one of its 1990s stars went on to appear in a Bond film and dozens of other movies and TV shows - and now runs a lap-dancing club in Norwich?

"Have you ever thought about being a Gladiator?"

That question was put to Daz Crawford in the mid-1990s, not long after he had left the Royal Air Force.

He had found work as a stripper, but that was not a long-term career option.

Then a friend suggested he try out for one of the best-known shows on television.

Standing 6ft 4in (1.93m) tall and muscular, he certainly had the right look for a Gladiator.

His striking physique been honed through a rigorous training regime as an amateur boxer, once a contender for the Great Britain Olympic team.

"It didn't matter whether it was Christmas Day, summer holidays or whatever; I still worked out," he says.

Initially he was not keen on becoming a Gladiator, he admits. "I didn't like the show. I thought it was all fake and steroids and that."

But Crawford auditioned successfully and won a role replacing one of the original Gladiators, Warrior. He was given his own new identity: Diesel.

Appearing as 'Diesel', Crawford joined Gladiators in 1998

He had come a long way from what he describes as a rough childhood in Liverpool.

"As a young teenager I had nowhere else to live, so joining the military was my only choice or I'd probably end up in jail," he says.

"I think I made the better choice."

Over the next 16 years, he was posted around Europe, before his final role at RAF Neatishead in Norfolk.

But with the Ministry of Defence making cuts, he took redundancy.

Then came his stint with a male strip troupe and his big TV break.

Gladiators was past its early-90s heyday and lasted for only two more series after Crawford joined, but was still pulling in large crowds.

"It was quite an amazing feat. There were 10,000 people at every episode," he says.

Away from the arena, he used his new superhero status to travel the country with fellow Gladiator Cobra to give talks to schoolchildren.

"Some kids that weren't so lucky in life, from poorer backgrounds – I connected quite easily with that because that's where I came from."

Crawford enjoyed travelling the country meeting young fans

Meanwhile, another Gladiator friend, Vulcan - aka John Seru - had landed a part in the latest James Bond film, The World is Not Enough.

"You need to come down to the studio now," Seru told him.

There was a chance for Crawford to try out for a role as well.

"It was a closed set. It was just himself, Pierce Brosnan, who was James Bond then, and [actress] Sophie Marceau – [producer] Barbara Broccoli was there as well," he remembers.

He landed the part of a henchman working for Robbie Coltrane's Russian gangster character.

It was a small role - he is quickly choked out by Bond, who then sips a vodka martini - but it led to more acting jobs.

A rock climber in Casualty. A part in a miniseries with a young Gerard Butler.

And then, Blade 2 – the sequel to the first major Marvel movie.

Crawford's character was part of an elite team of vampire warriors who Wesley Snipes' Blade reluctantly teamed up with.

"I'd watched Wesley Snipes in White Men Can't Jump – and thought 'This is just surreal,'" recalls Crawford.

Crawford appeared alongside Wesley Snipes in Blade 2, one of the earliest movies based on a Marvel comic book

Since partially relocating to the US, dozens more parts have followed.

"I've got 50 credits on IMDB," says Crawford, who describes himself as "a jobbing actor".

Most are not in well-known films or shows but the CGI characters he provided movement for are high-profile.

He was motion-captured for Kratos in the early God of War Playstation games – and also for Shere Khan in Disney's remake of The Jungle Book, which made almost $1bn at the box office.

Still a physical presence, although refusing to say how old he is ("I've kept it a secret for a long time"), Crawford's film work continues.

His latest role is in a faith-based movie, a growing genre in the US.

The Carpenter sees a Viking orphan becoming an apprentice to Jesus, while taking part in ancient pit-fights (no, really).

"You can watch it as a fight movie or watch it as a religious movie," says Crawford.

"Yes, the 'carpenter' is in there and he does offer wise words. But you can just see him as a character and watch it as a fight movie."

Crawford says his time as a stripper helps him to empathise with his employees: "I remember how nervous I was taking my clothes in front of a strange person"

Away from the US, his home is in Norwich, where he has a lap-dancing club, Sugar and Spice.

"I do feel like I've done a circle, from being a dancer myself to actually being involved in the business side of it," he says.

While he admits such clubs do carry a stigma, he insists his venue is "light entertainment" and an inclusive space "trying to get away from the reputation that some lap dancing clubs have."

"It's a shame because there are a minority of clubs that do mess it up for other clubs," he says.

"Thirty per cent of our customers are females. We have wheelchair access; we get a lot of people in wheelchairs. We've got deaf people; they can feel the bass, see the show."

Away from table dancing and Tinseltown, he looks fondly back on the show that gave him his big break and is pleased Gladiators has returned to TV.

"It's like a movie; the first is always the best," he says.

"But it's great that it's come back. The kids now might have another idol.

"You stick 14 or 15 people in tight Lycra and you create some superheroes; you've got entertainment for the whole family."