A ROMAN fanatic has been reunited with the son he had not seen in 25 years – all thanks to his obsession with Caesar and the Empire.

Tony “The Roman” Jose made headlines around the world after turning his terraced home in Gilesgate, Durham City, into a Roman shrine, complete with images, slogans and memorabilia.

His fame spread after he took his Roman impersonation act, in which he dresses in armour and recites a scene from the hit film Gladiator, onto ITV talent show Britain’s Got Talent.

And it was these media appearances which allowed Mr Jose’s family, including sister Carol Jose, nephew Damian Jose, cousins Julie Pennington and Christine McNouty(CORR) and even his long-lost son Stefan Jose to re-establish contact, after a gap of more than quarter of a century.

His relatives had been trying to find Mr Jose for years without success.

But father and son were finally reunited last week, when Mr Jose Jnr, a married business manager in his 40s, made the long drive north from his home in Bournemouth.

And his father discovered, to his delight, that following the Britain’s Got Talent appearance Mr Jose Jnr was dubbed “Son of Maximus” by his workmates.

Mr Jose Snr said: “I didn’t recognise him at first, after so long.

“He said: “I’m Stefan – your son’. We talked for about an hour and went for a game of pool.

“It was unbelievable – not having seen him for so long. I was looking at him when he took a shot – it was like looking at myself.

“His workmates saw me on Britain’s Got Talent and he had to confess I was his dad. Since then, they’ve called him ‘Son of Maximus’.”

The family now plan to keep in touch regularly, as Mr Jose Snr continues his charity work: dressing as a Roman soldier to raise money for causes including Heel and Toe and the Rainbow Trust.

Carole Jose tracked down her brother with the help of Caroline Swainston, landlord of the Last Orders pub, where – in honour of their famous regular – drinkers greet each other with Roman-style wristgrabbing handshakes and bid farewell by wishing each other ‘strength and honour’.