‘Gladiators’ legend Jet has criticised the show for omitting the original stars from the reboot.
Gladiators legend Jet has criticised the show for omitting the original stars from the reboot
The 53-year-old athlete, whose real name is Diane Youdale gushed about the new BBC series, but lamented at the fact that the original cast were not asked to return.
Speaking to the Daily Mirror, she said: “It would have been nice for there to have been a nod to each and every one of the originals to be guests or do commentary or punditry. We all still have so much to give in our experiences. It’s not bitter chips, but maybe it is!”
Jet also revealed that she was initially hoping the rebooted programme wouldn’t be as successful as the original ITV series, but quickly realised that the BBC show was just as good “and then some”.
During an appearance on ‘GladPod: The Gladiators Podcast’, she said: “There was a part of me going, ‘Don’t be as good, don’t be even better, please.’ Everyone had been saying ‘It won’t be as good.’ It was and then some.
“I had this experience for the first time of being someone in their living room getting behind these Gladiators. It’s true to the original, like, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it, and that’s exactly what we’ve got.”
Although Jet is a fan of the new series, Ulrika Jonsson, the former host of the original ITV programme, bashed the revamped show for removing the cheerleaders for the reboot.
Appearing on ‘Lorraine’, she said: "It brought tears to my eyes because they have kept the music and the general feel of it so really, they have done a great job. "But no cheerleaders! I just don’t understand it. I don’t know if it's some kind of wokery?
“The whole point, the cheerleaders brought such ... they just brought another level and some depth it.
"And they were gorgeous and talented girls, we had such a lovely time together with them.
"They were so great and it's just a shame ... don’t know what the reasons are."
Tagged in Jet Ulrika Jonsson