Diane Youdale
| Diane Youdale | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Diane Patricia Youdale 13 February 1970 Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England |
| Other names | Jet |
| Known for | Gladiators (1992 series) |
| Notes | |
Diane Patricia Youdale (born 13 February 1970) is an English television personality, who is best known for her role as "Jet" on the television series Gladiators.
Born in Middlesbrough to an astronomer father, Youdale grew up in the nearby town of Billingham, where she studied at the Billingham Campus School.
Youdale competed in gymnast events and was North of England Junior Gymnastics Champion for four years. One of her first television appearances was in the 1983 Thames Television show Junior Gymnast of the Year, where she finished in fifth place with 32.70 points.
She acted with the National Youth Theatre. She studied dance at London Contemporary School for Dance and was a member of the National Youth Dance Company. She also worked at Farnham Sports Centre before getting her big television break.
Youdale's first television appearance was in the series She-Wolf of London. She appeared on Gladiators from 1992 to 1996, leaving the show after hurting her back in a fall in an unaired show, her last domestic series was series 4 in 1995. She was competing on the pyramid and fell awkwardly as she tackled a contender, trapping nerves in her neck. She later stated:
“I was beginning to see more spinal injuries. You can damage your ankle or your knee and it will recover, but breaking your neck – that’s a different story. After my accident, I decided to quit while I could. I decided it wasn’t worth it any more. I wanted to leave while I could still walk out of the studio. I love hiking and I didn’t want that to be taken from me for the sake of someone’s entertainment.”
As a consequence of her injury, the pyramid was suspended for one series and a change in the rules was necessitated (which was later adopted for the 2008 revival of the American series).
Youdale developed her young fan base, becoming a children's television presenter as "The Games Mistress" on the video game show series Games World, and as a presenter on the game show series' You Bet! & Finders Keepers.
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