Alan Partridge had a signed photo of Jet from Gladiators! And with Alan making a return to BBC1 tonight in his new series, This Time With Alan Partridge, we thought we'd look at what happened to Jet, real name Diane Youdale. Find out her connections to Daniel Craig and Louie Spence and what she's up to now... might she even make appearance on Alan's new show?!
Jet from Gladiators was a huge star and famously caught the eye of Alan Partridge, who had a wacky idea for show involving Jet: “Jet from Gladiators to host a Millennium barn dance at Yeovil aerodrome.”
Jet, real name Diane Youdale, landed Gladiators following a career in gymnastics, dance and choreography. Before Gladiators she also appeared in the TV series, She-Wolf of London. And she even appeared on stage with future James Bond star Daniel Craig at the National Youth Theatre. “Daniel Craig was in my year group and I shared the stage with him at Shaw Theatre. We did Night Creek, which is a variation of a Shakespearean play,” she once told the Lancashire Post.
As Jet, Diane appeared in Gladiators from 1992 to 1996, becoming a massive fan favourite until she decided to bow out after suffering an injury. “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,” she once said.
During her time on Gladiators, she also enjoyed a spell as co-host on massive ITV game show, You Bet.
What does Diane make of Alan Partridge being her biggest fan and his idea that Jet from Gladiators should host a barn dance at Yeovil ?
Speaking to inews, Diane said of Alan's love of Jet from Gladiators: “It was weird to be honest – great fun though! I’ll still one day barn dance at Yevoil Aerodrome!”
What did Diane do after Gladiators?
Well, she quickly landed a role in The New Adventures of Robin Hood as Billy. Diane has been regularly popping up on TV, including appearing on Keith Lemon’s show, Celebrity Juice in 2012, where Holly Willoughby revealed Jet was her favourite Gladiator. Also on the show was a good friend Louie Spence, who she lived with for 18 months!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sf--n7U3W-E
From 2012-2014, Diane, a qualified therapist, appeared on the Big Brother after show, Big Brother’s Bit On The Side, saying what she thought about the mindset of the housemates. In 2014 she also appeared on Celebrity Pointless.
And what’s Diane up to now?
Diane, now 49, recently appeared in the fantasy comedy film, Eric and the Barbarian, alongside acting great, Brian Blessed. She describes her character as a "bad ass warrior lady called Aurora".
Diane is also now a trained psychotherapist and Pilates instructor. She offers various services through her website, including fitness and dance consultancy.
Gladiators pics: ITV/REX/Shutterstock. This Morning pic: Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock
