News Beat
Gladiators’ most brutal injuries from a snapped neck that nearly killed star to devastating 30 ft horror fall
KNOWN for casting TV’s strongest stars, The Gladiators presents participants with the ultimate physical challenge.
But sometimes, even the team of gladiators can get hurt in their epic clashes – despite the show’s safety protocols.
The show was a staple on British TV back in the 1990s before it was rebooted back in 2024, and is set to make a return for it’s third rebooted season later this month.
From horror falls to a neck snap that saw one star’s life at risk, being one of the show’s ‘superhumans’ it’s not a risk-free job.
A number of injuries have been sustained across BOTH versions of the show, old and new.
Jet’s neck snap
Original Gladiator Jet, who was on the show from 1992 until 1996, had her TV stint abruptly cut short in a near-fatal awkward fall from a giant black and white pyramid during a show.
When she hit the crash pad, she immediately realised something was wrong with her neck – landing vertically.
Looking back on the incident, the Gladiator – real name Diane Youdale – told The Sun in 2020: “It terrified me so much that I could have sat in a chair for the rest of my life and possibly worse,” Diane says.
However, it was her flexibility that actually saved her – with Jet told by medics she would have suffered a fatal “hangman break” – the type of fracture that killed prisoners executed by hanging – if she wasn’t so bendy.
Gladiators’ producers banned the Pyramid from future performances after her accident deeming it too dangerous for the series.
Comet’s horror 30ft fall
Going back to the rebooted series, Gladiator Comet – real name Ella-Mae Rayner – suffered a 30ft fall while filming her debut for the series in 2024.
The star, who is a former gymnast, shattered her ankle and foot in multiple places and ruptured three ligaments.
She said of the accident: “It just goes to show that we aren’t acting. This isn’t WWE, this is one of the toughest shows on TV.
“The injury was really, really tough but I had the team around me and everyone was amazing. I couldn’t have asked for a better medical team.”
The fall wasn’t shown on the TV broadcast from the show, and Comet has since returned.
FOUR stars forced out by injury
Last summer, The Sun revealed that FOUR gladiators – Legend, Bionic, Diamond and Athena – were taken out while taking on games for the new series.
During filming for the intense show, Legend, real name Matt Morsia, tore a bicep, and Bionic – aka Matty Campbell – dislocated his shoulder.
On the female side, Diamond – Livi Sheldon – ruptured the ACL and MCL in her knee.
While Athena – Karenjeet Kaur Bains – busted her knee too.
The quartet all managed to appear on the show despite their nasty injuries.
Hunter’s hell
Original Gladiator star Hunter – real name James Crossley – suffered a myriad of injuries during his run on the show, and even said he would rather “leave a corpse” than lose out.
Back in 2024, he admitted to Betway: “They wanted to pull me from the show, which was the last show for the title of Ultimate Gladiator.
“But I said to the physio, ‘you’ll take me off here as a corpse, I’m not leaving the stage.’
“At the time, I was so competitive and so in it, I would have happily lost my arm to be on that show. That was my mentality.”
Detailing the extent of his injuries, Hunter, who joined the show aged 19, said they were “horrendous”.
He explained: “The injuries were problematic. There were a lot of injuries during the show, but it’s a contact sport, a bit like American football.
“The problem with Gladiators is that everything is so intense. If you look at a game like Powerball, which is 60 seconds, you might do 15 to 20 rugby tackles in 60 seconds, which is what you might do in a 90 minute rugby game.
“Even rugby players thought it was full on. There’s so much impact on the body in a very short period of time.”
Nightshade’s stretcher exit
The original series wasn’t short of injuries, with Judy ‘Nightshade’ Simpson, forced to be taken off of the show on a stretcher after a bad fall in 1995.
She fell backward off of a platform after her opponent’s rope went slack.
Thankfully, the star made a full recovery.
Warrior’s knee rip
Gladiator Warrior, real name Michael Ahearne , dislocated his knee during a challenge which saw the cast rolling around inside huge steel balls – seeing Mike injured while pivoting.
He said at the time: “I was in tremendous pain when the accident occurred… I turned around and my knee stayed behind me.
Physio Mike Garmston said the accident was caused by the “tremendous force” he exerted through the kneecap and said it “actually ripped out the poly-mechanism of the knee”.
He added: “It’s a little bit like a train sitting on the track and the knee cap has been pulled off its track with tremendous and there was considerable damage in the inside part of the knee.”
