Peter Rhodes on working women, a mysterious pile-up and being upended by a Gladiator
In the glory days of Jaguar, the British-built limousines were promoted with a catchy, three-word sales slogan: “Grace, Space, Pace.” This week brought images of of a “rogue” electric Jag which according to its owner (and disputed by the manufacturer), developed a sudden unexplained brake fault, resulting in a four-car, £150,000 pile-up. So that's “Grace, Space, Pace – Brace!”
Gladiators, ready! Eight million hopelessly addicted viewers, ready! This weekend brings the Grand Final of Gladiators (BBC1) which has grabbed a huge audience, just as the original Gladiators did in the 1990s, with an alluring blend of physical perfection and tongue-in-cheek humour. I've particularly enjoyed the weekly wit and wisdom of Legend, the Gladiator who, over the past few weeks, has cornered the market in self-centred petulance. His take on the wise old saying about teamwork and the letter I bears repeating: “There may be no I in “team,” Legend told us. “But there are five Is in “individual brilliance.”
During its first run 30-odd years ago, I interviewed a Gladiator who, at the photographer's suggestion, grabbed me in a headlock and turned me upside-down. In the words of the old movie cliché, resistance is futile. You just have to hang there and pretend you're enjoying it.
