a suspended silver ring awaited, the first to grab this won the event in a shower of sparks. Contenders scored 10 points for reaching the end ring first, otherwise 1 point for each pole reached. Whiplash First appearance: series 4, 1995 – heat 1 Last appearance: series 8, 1999 – "Battle of the Giants" A tug-of-war game in which contender and Gladiator grip a "dog bone" and the contender had to use this to pull the Gladiator out of the ring or to obtain the "dog bone". No wrenching or pulling was permitted on the Gladiator's part, their role was strictly defence, however, the contender could use any means to remove the Gladiator. The "dog bone" was changed in later seasons and was designed to keep both contender and Gladiator from letting go and making for more exciting bouts. Contenders would score 10 points for pulling the Gladiator out of the ring within the 30-second time limit. Unused events Two events were planned, even appearing in the opening titles, but never made it to any televised series. Breakthrough & Conquer This two-part event (based on the event of the same name in the American series) was road-tested in the 1993 Wembley live shows, but it was never played in any televised series (although clips of it were shown in the series 2 opening show). For the first part of the event, the contender, armed with a rugby ball, had to get past a Gladiator without being tackled, gaining 5 points if successful. Any foul by a Gladiator (illegal strike to the head, not in the five-yard zone, etc.) also was an automatic win. For the second part, the contender was placed in a small circle against a different Gladiator and had 30 seconds to remove the Gladiator from the circle, again receiving 5 points should they be successful. Cyclotron This event was due to appear as a new event in the 1997 series along with Tightrope, even appearing (as a CGI image) in the opening credits. Gameplay appeared to involve both contender and Gladiator on cycles on a rotating circular track. It appeared that the Gladiator was to chase the contender with the aim of catching them. The reason for Cyclotron's removal from the events roster is unknown, although it is rumoured that it was due to technical problems and certain Gladiators commented on it being too difficult to play