THE self-proclaimed ‘Gladiator of the Gospel’ has appeared in Worcester.

Warren Furman, better-known as ‘Ace’ in the 1990s programme ‘Gladiators’ appeared at The Firefly Worcester for a talk and at Woodgreen Evangelical Church in Warndon Villages.

His appearance is part of a tour of the country to speak about Christianity and ‘British values.’

He said: "There are preconceived ideas about Christians, because religions have done a lot of damage.

"We are in a nation of seekers. People are looking for something but they won’t hear the truth because we are in a society that forces people to conform, and Christians are painted as people with an agenda, but the gospel is the eternal truth."

Mr Furman also hit out at his previous life. At the height of his success he was in a relationship with Katie Price.

He described celebrity culture during his time as a gladiator as "fake news."

He said: “We would tell lies to newspapers just to keep us in them, and we’d get all this free stuff from commercial companies.”

He said: “I met Princess Margaret at The Royal Tournament, (military games held at Earls Court) and when I met her she said “oh what is this Gladiators? What a ghastly programme.”

She was right because here we were, the gladiators, playing games against soldiers, making a mockery of them, people who give their lives for us.”

He added: "Culture is confusing people. You’re not allowed to speak out because people get offended but God is reaching out to people. God chose the messiah to set us free.

"Every problem you have, Jesus Christ is the answer. God is paving out the truth and all you have to do is believe.”

Among the stranger comments he made was that he believes the Queen is a blood relative of Jesus.

However, despite his concerns, Mr Furman, who lives in York with his wife and two children, described the present as "an exciting time to be alive."