Gladiators legend Wolf has revealed his son Dean was rejected from starring in the BBC reboot of the show, even though bringing him in as ‘Son of Wolf’ would’ve been completely awesome.
Dean, 34, was hoping to follow in the footsteps of Wolf – real name Michael Van Wijk – by becoming the ultimate heel of British TV just like dad was in the 90s.
But it looks like that’s not going to happen because his application was turned down.
Dad Wolf, 70, explained: “I got a lame excuse back. They said to me ‘your son’s not a UK resident so we couldn’t consider him’. But seeing he was born in Orpington Hospital and he’s got a UK passport… just because he’s living abroad with me. They said they didn’t realise and will consider him for next year.”
How dumb is that? Dean lives close to his dad in Auckland, New Zealand, and could’ve easily just flown to the UK while filming takes place, but apparently producers didn’t realise he had a UK passport until it was too late.
As if that wasn’t silly enough, they also rejected Wolf as host of the show, instead opting for… Bradley Walsh and his son Barney? Seriously?
Wolf added: “I think they’re trying to get away from the old image. They want to put their own stamp on it. I wanted to be a presenter on it then they took Bradley Walsh and his son. I never got a reply when I contacted them.”
Outrageous. How is Wolf not a referee at the very least? Should’ve brought back John Fashanu and Ulrika Johnson too while they’re at it. Although, it’s probably a good thing they passed on Shadow after what he’s been up to recently. Yikes.
