The Gladiators referee who said the iconic line “Gladiators ready! Contenders ready!” has died at the age of 92, the TV show said.

John Anderson was best known as the umpire in the original ITV show, which aired between 1992 and 2000, and the revamped Sky series in 2008.

The Scottish sports coach trained more than 100 Olympians and was inducted into the Coaching Hall of Fame in 2002.

The official Gladiators Instagram account shared a statement saying: “We are deeply saddened to…