HER YORKSHIRE ARENA
Diane Youdale-Gilbert, aka Jet in the original series of Gladiators, was brought up with Yorkshire on her doorstep. She’s returned to the area and is relishing the outdoor life – and reliving the hit show
Gladiators is all about glamour, guts and plent y of gung-ho. A new audience is full of love for the made-in-Sheffield Saturday night BBC One show with its all-action thrills and spills, from daring athletes competing to the max. And Diane Youdale-Gilbert always tunes in to watch. As Jet in the original series back in 1992, she became a fan favourite at the age of 22.
With a pedigree as a GB gymnast, she was an impressive athlete and had also trained as a choreographer so sport, performance and the spotlight came naturally to her. Standing still didn’t though, she remembers.
Talking about the pressure of being in front of the camera on the prime-time show, she says: ‘We were left to our own devices to develop our own persona.
‘One of the reasons I did that f licky hair, smiley somersault-y thing was because I didn’t want to stand still and pose. I just wanted to fly around the arena – hence the name Jet!’
In the arena on the current series, she is impressed by Legend. ‘He’s being tonguein-cheek naughty and “it’s all about me” – that’s a great character to put into the arena because he’s going to make people want to hate him! Of the girls, Sabre is a fabulous athlete and brilliant to watch, as is Diamond.
‘All the new Gladiators are out of this world – the level of sports science now means they are superhuman!’
Diane left the show in 1996 after suffering a neck injury, but believes injury risk is part of the game. ‘You can never make the arena a safe place otherwise we wouldn’t be Gladiators.’
So, her fitness level these days? She laughs. ‘It’s all right. I love teaching and my favourite subject is psychotherapy and the health of the mind, but I also teach dance fitness and Zumba and Pilates. I love delivering fitness and wellbeing.’
Diane, now 54, also does personal training and she enjoys taking clients into the outdoors. She lives close to the North York Moors and coast. Born and brought up in Billingham, Diane loves days out in countrysi
