Diane Youdale

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Diane Youdale
Born
Diane Patricia Youdale

(1970-02-13) 13 February 1970 (age 51)
Billingham, Teesside, England
Other namesJet
Known forGladiators (1992-96)
Finders Keepers (1996)
You Bet! (1996)

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.[1]

Career[]

In 1990, Youdale played the She-Wolf in the Finnegan/Pinchuk Company, HTV and MCA Television Entertainment production, She-Wolf of London.[2] The prosthetics required took four hours to apply and three hours to remove.[3]

Youdale trained as a choreographer before joining Gladiators at the age of 22.[4]

In November 1994, she released her first single; I Don't Know, a collaboration with ISM which reached a peak of 100 on the UK Single Chart. An accompanying album; No Covers released in the same year failed to chart.[5]

She left the Gladiators in 1996 after sustaining a neck injury on the show. She then co-hosted the final original series of Finders Keepers with Neil Buchanan in 1996, and in the same year, was the hostess on You Bet!, with Darren Day.[4]

“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.”[6]

After attempting to become a presenter, Youdale later re-trained as a psychotherapist.[4]

On 2 July 2008 it was announced that Sky had plans to do a revival of the hit show Gladiators. Diane Youdale, following an interview with Loaded magazine quotes that "Sky reckon they're going to run it for three to four years so I've said to them why not wait until the last ever episode and then I make my comeback then?" she commented. However that will all depend on how well the show does in the ratings.[7] She ended up as a reporter on the show, as well as co-hosting the Gladiators podcast.[8]

Later in 2008, Youdale joined BBC Tees to co-present the Monday-Friday mid-morning show with Neil Green. The show started on 22 September 2008 and Youdale's last show was 21 January 2011.[9][10]

Youdale briefly appeared as Jet in the second Big Fat Quiz of the '90s special broadcast by Channel 4 in 2013.[citation needed]

Personal life[]

Diane Youdale was brought up in Billingham. Her father was who was the BBC Tees astronomer for 30 years.[9]

Youdale dated fellow Gladiator James Crossley (Hunter) for two years before parting due to hectic work schedules.[11][12]

Youdale married and resided for a period in the London area as she trained in psychotherapy.[13] After separation and divorce, Diane spends her time between North East England and Surrey where she works as a psychotherapist and is launching her own EQ company Soul Dynamics. She enjoys long walks, exercising and is a keen surfer.[14]

References[]

  1. ^ "Middlesbrough's Gladiator 'Jet' has done it all". Archived from the original on 21 October 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  2. ^ Biscotti, Steven (7 June 2016). "Diane Youdale; The She-Wolf of London!". Universal Monsters Universe. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  3. ^ "Hell Yeah! She-Wolf of London". Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c Kale, Sirin (23 October 2019). "'Gladiators ... ready!' Whatever became of Wolf, Jet, Rhino and the show's other stars?" – via www.theguardian.com.
  5. ^ "Official Charts - Diane Youdale". Official Charts. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  6. ^ Day, Liz (27 December 2014). "Remember Jet from Gladiators? She's got a new job with @spirehealthcare". Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  7. ^ "Gladiators Legend, Diane 'Jet' Youdale talks about Gladiators revival & a possible return to the arena". KocoSports.com. 29 April 2008. Archived from the original on 11 February 2009. Retrieved 9 April 2010.
  8. ^ https://www.gladiatorstv.com/gladiators/classic-itv/jet/
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b British Broadcasting Corporation Press Officer. "Former Gladiator Jet returns home to BBC Tees". Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  10. ^ BBC Radio Tees. "Neil Green and Diane Youdale". Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  11. ^ Hey, Sarah (10 January 1996). "TV Jet to Marry". The Mirror. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  12. ^ "Jet Glad to be a Wedding Belle!". Daily Record. 10 January 1996. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  13. ^ Beattie, Jason. "Latest UK News Headlines – Mirror.co.uk". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 9 April 2010.
  14. ^ "Lifestyle – Health & Fitness – It looks good for Diane". Gazette Live. 13 May 2008. Archived from the original on 9 July 2008. Retrieved 9 April 2010.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""