Звезда телешоу «Гладиаторы» Майкл Джефферсон Кинг посетил Бournemouth для поддержки антиножевой благотворительной акции

Former Gladiators star Shadow visited Bournemouth to support an anti-knife crime charity. Michael Jefferson King, known to television viewers as Shadow, attended events in the town over the weekend to support a campaign and meet fans. The 1990s television star joined a charity football match organised by Changes Are Made (CAM), founded by Tracy Jose in memory of her grandson Cameron Hamilton. Councillor Duane Farr attended the charity event, he said: "Well done to Tracy Jose founder of Changes Are Made and all her team and everyone involved to make the charity football match day so special." King also took part in a meet-and-greet at Trove in The Arcade, organised by Bournemouth residents Marc Smith and Lola Massingham. Fans queued to meet him, and one supporter brought a photograph of himself with King taken 35 years ago. During the weekend, King posed for photographs and spoke with supporters, children and families attending the events. Lola and Marc, who have worked with King for around two years, said they were delighted to bring him to Bournemouth. They said: "It was fantastic to bring our friend Jeff down to our hometown, we had been planning it for a while and I was so excited and pleased to see all the hard work pay off and for so many loving fans get the opportunity to meet their idol and inspiration." King, who rose to fame as one of the original stars of ITV's Gladiators in the 1990s, has spoken openly about rebuilding his life following a prison sentence. In 2021, he was jailed for six years and three months after admitting two counts of blackmail connected to the kidnap of a man in west London. King said: "I'm building a platform where real people can share the battles they've been carrying in silence, the kind of stories that can help someone else keep going." According to Marc, King regards his time in prison as a turning point. He said the former Gladiator entered custody struggling with cocaine addiction but used the experience, particularly the Covid lockdown period, to get clean and reassess his priorities. Since leaving prison, King has worked as a personal trainer and motivational speaker, visiting schools, colleges and prisons to share his story and encourage people to avoid the mistakes that led him into trouble.