Spartacus 'fresco' features Simon Cowell and Gordon Brown
A celebrity artist has created a modern-day version of a traditional Roman fresco, casting Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh and the warring Gallagher brothers as gladiators.
At its centre is star of the show Andy Whitfield, who stands over two of his victims, one of them former Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
Welsh-born Whitfield is a man who epitomises courage both on and off-screen as he portrays the rebellious warrior slave Spartacus and in real life battles non-hodgkins lymphoma.
Describing his inspiration for the painting, Karslake said: "After watching several episodes of Spartacus, I was struck by how contemporary society holds just as much sex, violence and deception as it did in Roman times.
"Every day, modern day gladiators vie for our attention and are held up for our entertainment in a bid to win our affection, ratings or votes.
"If Simon Cowell had been around in Ancient Rome, would he be running Gladiatorial schools or does Gordon Brown's demise bear any resemblance to emperors of the past?"
Spartacus: Blood and Sand airs exclusively on Tuesdays at 10pm from Tuesday May 25 and stars Scottish actor John Hannah and Lucy Lawless.
Hannah, who plays Batiatus, owner of the Gladiator arena said: "I think we all like that historical world.
"We want to know where our society has come from and who we are, and what we were without the constraints of civilization.
"I think those kind of people still exist - they're just dressed in suits and pinstripe shirts now. I can see the modern parallels."
Historian and writer Natalie Hayes said: "Ancient Rome is no different from the modern world.
"We no longer watch chariot races or gladiatorial fights but we watch races just like Romans did - for us the chariots have become Formula 1 cars.
