Original Gladiators host Ulrika Jonsson has claimed there was "a lot of bed hopping" during the 1990s version of the show.
The sports entertainment show, which was originally broadcast from 1992 to 2000 on ITV, is set to return to screens on Saturday with 16 new "superhumans" all eager to show off their speed and strength against members of the public - aka contenders.
Presenter Bradley Walsh and his son Barney will host the 11-episode series, which will see the Gladiators take on contenders in new and old games, culminating with classic challenge The Eliminator.
Speaking to The Telegraph about the original version, Jonsson, 56, who presented the show with John Fashanu when it would regularly attract 14 million viewers during its primetime slot, said: "Gladiators was as rock and roll as you can imagine.
"It was like they [the Gladiators] were on drugs. Well, they were probably on different kinds of drugs. But they were so excitable.
"You don’t build a body like that without bucketfuls of vanity. But this was their moment and they got very excited.
"There was a lot of bed-hopping. The producers put them all on one floor in the hotel, which made it easy."
Jonsson herself dated one of the Gladiators - Hunter aka bodybuilder James Crossley - for a year.
The presenter also said that there was some behaviour from show bosses that wouldn’t happen in the modern day.
She claimed that she was made to wear revealing clothing while talking to members of the audience, which made her feel "so uncomfortable."
“I remember standing there with my boobs up here thinking, this is horrible, she said. "Nowadays you’d put your foot down straight away, but it wasn’t the climate. And also, I’d just been given a big show to do, so you don’t want to kick up a fuss.”
On Friday, Gladiators star Dynamite said they want to show young viewers you can be competitive - but said there is "no point putting contenders down".
Appearing on BBC Breakfast on Friday, Dynamite confirmed the athletes will be paying compliments to contenders for the effort they put in.
She said: “As natural sports people we want to show all those younger kids that you can be competitive and it is okay to want to win, but we also want to show that if you lose, that’s also okay as well.
“There’s no point putting contenders down and making them feel bad.”
The 20-year-old full-time elite CrossFit athlete, whose real name is Emily Steel, revealed she is "quite nice" on the show but that villainous-style characters will return.
Fellow Gladiator Apollo added: "I think everyone will have their favourites, there’s people playing certain roles within the show.
"We’ve got some guys who are bad to the bone and others (who are) more hero type."
The 29-year-old, whose real name is Alex Gray, previously played in the England rugby sevens team before transferring over to the NFL.
He said he was a "huge fan" of the original show and would watch it every week with his brothers.
Gladiators will launch on BBC One on January 13 at 5.50pm and be available to rewatch on the iPlayer.
