JUST because those mighty Gladiators are absent from our screens after their show was cancelled by ITV, doesn't mean these human fighting machines have been putting their feet up.

Far from it. Ace, alias Warren Furman, has spent the past couple of months abroad with fellow Gladiators filming a TV series competing against Gladiators from South Africa before heading for York and pantomime at the Grand Opera House.

It appears the show is as big as those muscular game-playing heroes in South Africa, proving there is life after British TV. "You read in the papers that Gladiators is over but I've been busy ever since the last series. I think they've underestimated how big it is. Nothing as popular has replaced it," says Ace.

He was told when he signed up as Ace that most Gladiators spend Christmas on stage as young audiences love to see them in the flesh. York's Cinderella will be his third pantomime. He came to see fellow Gladiator Hunter in last year's show and reckons the Grand Opera House is one of best theatres he's been to.

He's never forgotten stepping out on stage for the first time. "I froze - all those lights and faces looking at you," he recalls. Happily, his stage fright was only temporary and he now looks forward to the panto season each year. "Once you get to know the company, it's just a big family," he says.

One reason the experience was new was because he wasn't taken to see pantos as a child. "I come from a family of four boys and I think it was more trouble than it was worth to take us," he explains.

"Being a Gladiator is absolutely brilliant because we're not expected to be thespians. A good producer will bring out the best in you. You know they're not going to get you to do things that make a fool of you."

He was born in Doncaster but raised in Harlow which makes him a Yorkshireman at heart who grew up as an Essex boy. Four years ago, Furman became a Gladiator "by pure chance" after writing to the programme's makers LWT.

He was working as a roof tiler but training at the gym in his spare time - "trying to get myself agile rather than just big and chunky". As a 16-year-old he'd started working out because he was quiet and lacked confidence at school. He hoped that lifting weights would bring him out of himself.

"Competing never appealed to me because I don't think bodybuilding on a competitive level is a natural thing to do. Much as I like athletics, I was not really interested in punishing myself," he says.

After a fitness trial, he was signed up for the Gladiators team. "I didn't realise the size of them. I consider myself a big boy, then I met Saracen and I was in Land Of The Giants," recalls Ace. "It was quite daunting having to learn 25 games and be good at them knowing 25 million people were going to be watching and judging you. But that's all character building.

"I joined in the sixth year and thought being a Gladiator for a year would be an experience to tell the kids about. I've been lucky enough to do four years."

He adopted the name of Ace from a list of choices available to him. The idea of being leader of the pack appealed to him. Since then he's discovered another advantage - it's quick and easy to sign when asked for an autograph. "When you are in a Butlins holiday camp with 10,000 kids wanting autographs you're glad your name is Ace and not Saracen," he jokes. Each of the Gladiators series was recorded in an exhausting two weeks, filming two shows a day. Each programme took up to four hours to do and was then edited down to the hour that was broadcast. He reckons it took a week to recuperate after filming. The rest of the year was taken up with personal appearances and pantomime.

He thought seriously about packing it in and set up his own roofing company. Then he decided to stay in show business and asked his brother to run the new business. He went to Tenerife to train for the South African Gladiators show to get his incredible bulk - 17 plus stone, 6ft 1in, 54in chest - into peak condition. He'll stop training once he starts performing in panto. Doing two shows most days is all the exercise he needs. "It's a good opportunity to give your body time to recharge its batteries," he says.

l Cinderella is at the Grand Opera House, York, from December 14 to January 3. Tickets £9-£13, children £7 and families of four £32. Box office 01904-671818.

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