Gladiators icon Jet has detailed the horrific injury which led to her leaving the legendary gameshow.
After more than two decades off our screens, the hit show is officially returning, fronted by father-son duo Bradley and Barney Walsh, with a brand new generation of superhuman Gladiators as they compete against a brave set of contenders in the ultimate test of speed, skill, stamina and strength.
They’ll be following in the footsteps of the likes of Jet, Hunter, and Wolf, taking on games like the original Atlaspheres, Gauntlet and Pyramid.
Jet, real name Diane Youdale, joined Gladiators in 1992, and stayed for four and a half years until a neck injury led to her leaving in 1996.
She’s now spoken to Metro about her ‘awesome’ experience, while also sharing the injuries she faced.
Speaking on behalf of ICE 36, Diane began: ‘It was a bit scary, I won’t lie, until we got to grips with knowing what we were doing.’
She continued: ‘As soon as we saw the first edit of what they were going to release as the first show, it was like, oh my gosh, it looks really good and they’ve made us look really good as well!’
She went on to talk about her excitement at being a part of the original line-up, calling the arena ‘a playground for athletes and gymnasts’.
However, after four and a half years, Diane knew it was time for her career as Jet to come to an end.
During the annual ‘live event’ in 1996, the gymnast suffered a fall where she heard her neck ‘crack’.
She explained: ‘My accident was on Pyramid, and I remember I had a contender – who I have met since then – who was a bit bigger, stronger and faster than me.
‘And I pushed off the pyramid with her, they like these aerial tackles because it’s good car crash TV, and I just remember landing here and my bottom was there and she was almost on top of me.
‘The impact of that hyperextension of the spine and her, and then I quickly flipped because I heard a crack.
‘And I’ve heard that crack before when I’ve done ligaments in, and thankfully it wasn’t the bone, it was just compression.’
Diane went to say that she was taken to hospital and had to rest her spine in a brace.
‘After the next few days and weeks I just thought, I’ve done four and a half years, I’ve really loved it, I don’t think I could stand at the top of that pyramid or any of the other big falling events and be quite the same Gladiator that I was at the beginning.
‘And I thought, I’m not going to put myself through it.’
Diane, who went on to train as a psychotherapist, elsewhere recalled an injury she suffered from the very first series, in which, during a game of Volleyball, she ‘struck out’ on her ankle, which she had previously broken as a gymnast.
‘Literally from the get go, I was injured.’
But her injury actually led her to becoming stronger in other games, like Hang Tough, despite being unable to play games like Powerball in the first seasons, due to her ankle injury.
She’s now giving the same advice to the new generation of Gladiators, who include the daughter of an ex-contender and a James Bond star.
Diane advised them: ‘Be very good.’
She continued: ‘The contenders are going to come in at a really high level, they’ll make sure of that, so that means the Gladiators have got be up there.
‘There’s a lot of pressure and I do feel for them because you will be expected to have a high win rate and make it look interesting, but I think the Glads have to be right up there, and that’s a lot of pressure.’
Diane added: ‘So my advice is to try and become a good old-rounder as a Gladiator but don’t be average because the contenders will blow you out of the arena. Be very good.
‘Very, very good on at least one or two of the events – capitalise on them and make them what you become known for.’
Having broken her ankle, ‘inadvertently’ Diane became better at other events, while her background as a gymnast also helped.
‘It does help that you become formidable at something, to prove your worth as an athlete in the arena.
‘Looking good is not enough, just posing in front of the camera will not cut it today.’
Gladiators returns to BBC later this year.
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