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JET SET
I was a Gladiators sex symbol – Lightning and I had clever trick to stop our bums wobbling in daring Lycra, says Jet
GLADIATORS' heartthrobs and beauties quickly became fixtures on bedroom walls around the country in the 90s as they paraded their impressive physiques in barely-there Lycra.
While they were the envy of many and looked flawlessly fit, they weren't always as confident as you'd imagine.
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Speaking to The Sun on behalf of , Diane Youdale, aka Jet, revealed the girls were often "s**t-scared' before heading out into the arena to take on the contenders.
Diane, 53, said: "We were just really nervous because to run out into that arena... that's why I did lots of somersaults and cartwheels because I didn't like standing still and posing because I'm not a bodybuilder, I was a gymnast.
"So Lightning and I would just go flip flap and somersault around the arena because then they can't see your bum wobble [laughs]. Because there's nowhere to hide in two tiny bits of Lycra, so I kind of got my own system going in my head."
The constant movement also had the added benefit of keeping Diane in the right headspace to compete.
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She continued: "It harked back to my days as a gymnast and as a performer and dancer and choreographer that you keep moving. You stay in your zone where you know you can stay in your peak performance and be bloody good. That means having a level of focus and knowing the athlete that you are, despite being in a completely alien environment."
Diane famously quit Gladiators after four-and-a-half years, aged 26, following a nasty neck injury while tackling a contender on the Pyramid.
She landed on her head during a live version of the game at the old Wembley Stadium and was taken away in an ambulance after compressing her spinal cord.
Fortunately, she made a full recovery, but the potential risks of returning to the TV show were too much.
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She said of her decision: "I thought, I love walking in the mountains with my dog and then husband, and I thought, if I've sold out to sit in a wheelchair, which I would have adapted, people do, for a show, for a bit of money and a bit of fame, I wouldn't recognise myself.
"I was very passionate about health and safety on the show and I had a big meeting with the original health and safety guy after I left, and I just said 'make it a safer place for people to work', because it's a job after all.
"What they eventually did is they looked at the height of the falls. If you're swinging from a ring with a body wrapped around you and you both come off because you've won the fight and they land on your chest, one, you're winded, and, at worst, you're going to pop a joint, and God forbid it's your neck or spine."
With a rebooted version of the show returning to screens this year, Diane paid tribute to the new batch of Gladiators and contenders for signing up to tackle the iconic games.
"I think they're being very brave from what I've heard," she said. "They're doing four to five of the original events like Hang Tough - it's still got a 15ft drop - Pyramid's gonna be back, Power Ball's gonna be back. I'm not sure how they're going to tackle health and safety, I don't know enough about it."
There have already been victims of the show, with two Gladiators being forced to withdraw through injury.
Comet, whose real name is Ella-Mae Rayner, was dubbed the 'new' Jet prior to her accident.
Ella-Mae broke her ankle and foot and has had to undergo an operation to rebuild her foot.
While Sabre, aka Sheli McCoy, tore her hamstring.
Unfortunate early setbacks aside, Diane is confident the pedigree of the new Gladiators - which includes professional athletes and Olympians - as well as the athleticism of the new contenders, will surpass the original show.
And she is confident everyone involved will bring their A-game to make it a success on the BBC.
She said: "The prep that they'll have done today to go into the arena to be sharp and strong and brilliant, I hope will be bang on because I can't wait to see it."
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