Popular ‘90s TV show Gladiators will soon make a comeback on the BBC. The new series is set to be hosted by The Chase’s Bradley Walsh and his son Barney - read about the new Gladiators here.
The series first launched in 1992 on ITV and saw contestants compete in a series of physical events against the show's 'Gladiators'. One of the show’s original line up, Diane Youdale (AKA Jet), has now reflected on her time on the show.
Diane joined Gladiators at the age of 22 and worked on the show between 1992 and 1996. The TV personality, who is now 53, was headhunted to appear on the series by producers and has now opened up about who the “biggest diva” was on set.
Read more: Ant and Dec are bringing Byker Grove back to TV
In an interview with ICE36 Diane revealed that Michael Van Wijk (AKA Wolf) was hard work for show bosses. “As soon as series one had gone out and he realised that he was the big star of the show, he became a little bit of a diva,” she said. “I think there were a few debates among some of the Gladiators also about wanting more money if you competed in more events or were more popular than another Gladiator. That didn’t go down particularly well with some of us. There were a lot of debates about that between us. I’m not sure if Wolf was behind those because he became the star of the show. I’m pretty sure he probably was because he was a businessman.”
Speaking of Wolf, Diane also revealed that he hated his character to begin with and complained about being the “baddie” on the show. She revealed: “I can remember saying to him that the role of Wolf was going to be so much fun, and he looked perfect for it. It still makes me laugh to think about it, he said: 'I don’t want to be the baddie, I want to be the loved one!' Of course, in the end he loved the role, and he wasn’t a real baddie, he was like a pantomime baddie. He was one of the stars of the show.”
Elsewhere in the interview Diane opened up about her costume on the show, emphasising how she used it to her advantage. In fact she said that it sometimes “distracted” her competitors.
“When I put my original costume on, I felt like Bridget Jones!” Diane laughed. “You know, big pants and a really horrible itchy lining around your wristbands and lycra. It wasn’t right. I didn’t feel like the costume was very flattering so over the years I remodified the costume; I wanted my legs to look a bit longer and also wanted to have something which would show off my curves – I thought that could be a good distraction for the battles!”
As to how Diane earned the name Jet, she said it was down to her zooming through an army assault course. She added: “I was like a little character from Mario, just zooming about. He then called me back and said would you like to be on the show as Jet! I think they went with that name because I was so quick during the trial.”
Gladiators returns on BBC One later this year. For more showbiz and television stories get our newsletter here.
