Gladiators star Jet says she had “mixed feelings” about BBC reboot

The original Gladiators star wasn’t sure about the show’s return.

By Grace Henry

Published: Thursday, 06 July 2023 at 12:00 am

Over two decades since it last aired on ITV, Gladiators will return to our screens, this time on BBC One – with father and son duo Bradley and Barney Walsh set to host, along with a brand new cast of Gladiators.

The news was confirmed last year, with the director of unscripted at BBC, Kate Phillips, saying: “Gladiators is back and a whole new generation of viewers can now look forward to watching a Saturday night spectacle like no other.

“Will the contenders have the will and the skill to succeed against our mighty new Gladiators? You’ll have to tune in to find out!”

Despite her eventual excitement, original Gladiators star Diane Youdale, aka Jet, says she wasn’t 100 percent sure how she felt when she first heard the iconic show was returning.

Asked about the reboot, which is set to air later this year, she told RadioTimes.com exclusively, on behalf of ICE 36: “Really excited now, but when I first heard about it I remember feeling mixed.”

"Diane
Diane Youdale aka Jet.
ICE 36

She continued: “I heard it was the BBC that had bought it, and I’d heard about the people that had bought the rights, which is Dan Baldwin, who is Holly Willoughby’s husband, and suddenly I thought, ‘Actually, if they’ve got the budget and their heart is in the right place [it could work],’ because Holly has always been a massive fan of the show.

“So as soon as I found out it was him, and the father and son who are presenting it, I just thought, ‘It could work. It could really work.’”

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Having seen some behind-the-scenes footage from the new series, Jet thinks the Gladiators reboot could even be “better” than the original.

She added: “As long as they get the credibility behind the glads, they get good enough contenders with good backstories, and they give everybody a chance to really train up properly and they get all the support they need, because it’s one big machine to roll forward, then it could be amazing.

“And, you know what? I’ve seen some pictures this morning from a producer friend of mine who’s had access to a little bit of footage, and I can honestly tell you it’s better – because the lighting, the design is similar.”