Gladiators as a symbol Jet has revealed the horrifying injuries that caused her to leave the iconic game show.
The hit programme is finally returning to our screens after more than two decades away, led by father-son team Bradley and Barney Walsh, with a fresh new generation of superhuman Gladiators competing against a courageous group of challengers in the ultimate test of speed, skill, stamina, and strength.
They’ll be following in the footsteps of Jet, Hunter, and Wolf, taking on classics like Atlaspheres, Gauntlet, and Pyramid.
Jet, actual name Diane Youdale, joined Gladiators in 1992 and remained for four and a half years before quitting due to a neck injury in 1996.
She has now spoken about her ‘amazing’ experience, as well as the injuries she sustained.
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 explain that she had been brought to the hospital and that she needed 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 become a psychologist, recounted an injury she sustained during the first series, when she’struck out’ on her ankle, which she had previously fractured as a gymnast, during a game of volleyball.
‘Literally from the get go, I was injured.’
Despite being unable to play games like Powerball in the initial seasons owing to her ankle ailment, her disability actually led to her being stronger in other games, such as Hang Tough.
She’s now imparting the same counsel to the Gladiators’ next generation, which includes the daughter of an ex-contender and a James Bond actor.
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.’
Diane ‘accidentally’ improved in other activities after breaking her ankle, and 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.
Source My Celebrity Life.
