‘Gladiators brought me fame and fortune, but the gospel set me free’

Warren Furman went from being homeless to overnight fame, starring as Ace in the hit 90’s TV series Gladiators. As the reality TV show returns to our screens, soon-to-be Rev Furman, who was once engaged to Katie Price, tells the story of how he found God and turned from bodybuilding to building the body of Christ

My dad was a roof tiler. He was an honest person and worked harder than anybody I knew. But we grew up relatively poor, in a council house; we never had enough. After my brother died, they got angry with God. When we would ask existential questions, they would say: “If there was a God, why would a baby die?” 

We just discarded God from that point. I made the assumption that he wass just a sentimental story; a crutch for broken people who can’t cope with life. I didn’t want any of that. I wanted to be big and strong. You only get one life, and I wanted to live it.