Former Gladiators television star jailed for blackmail plot over ‘drugs debt’

Isleworth Crown Court, London (Anthony Devlin/PA)

A bodybuilder famous for his starring role in 1990s’ television programme Gladiators has been jailed for his part in a blackmail plot over a drugs debt.

Michael Jefferson King, known to millions as Shadow from the ITV game show, was one of four people who kept a man detained in a flat in Acton, west London, during a torturous attack lasting around eight hours.