Spartacus

You may be looking for the film.

Spartacus was a slave who led the uprising against the Roman Republic in the 1st century BC. His wife was Calpurnia.

Jamie McCrimmon, Ben Jackson and Polly Wright became caught up in the rebellion and helped Spartacus as much as they could before they had to let history take its course.

Ben and Polly had seen a film about him starring Kirk Douglas. Polly thought that the real Spartacus was nothing like Douglas but that he was nevertheless "a bit of a dish" with his long dark hair and the wicked look in his eye. (PROSE: The Slave War)

Ian Chesterton had also seen the film. When he was forced to fight Delos as a gladiator, he felt his situation was similar to Douglas' character's and recalled how in the film, the two combatants spared one another's lives and successfully turned on their captors. (PROSE: The Romans)