From the minute we heard about this movie, I said to my friends there was no WAY I would write a think piece about Gladiator II, let alone watch it, and yet, here we are: I've both watched and think-pieced.

A proper Christmas classic features a rather lovely Classical sub-plot. Pour yourself a mulled wine, snaffle a mince-pie and let Isabel Hood tell you a festive tale…

Did they really launch ships in the Colosseum? Did they really wear fancy breastplates?

Alexandra Sills, checks how accurately Ridley Scott’s film presents the life of a gladiator.