Gladiators icon Diane Youdale has opened up about the “dark days” after leaving the iconic ITV show.
Fans will remember that Diane became an overnight sensation when she joined the hit primetime series under the stage name Jet.
The 51-year-old star has now opened up about the time she was forced to quit the show in 1996 following a dangerous neck injury.
Diane has spoken openly about her troubled past and explained how people can find themselves in unsafe situations through naivety.
In an exclusive chat with the Daily Star, the actress revealed that she made some “very big mistakes” in her mid-thirties during which time she found herself in some terrifying situations.
(Image: LWT)
Looking back on her youth, Diane admitted: “You can’t get into your early 50s and not admit to making some very big mistakes and I have and I’ll admit to that.
“The worst thing was during those years things got really dark. There may be a book one day.”
Diane emphasised how her life had changed from her stardom on the hit TV show to finding herself in dangerous circumstances just ten years later.
(Image: Daily Star)
“People would say, ‘Di, you’re a therapist’, but I’m not a saint’,” she said.
“Bad things can happen to people even if you don’t see something coming and suddenly, you’re in it.
“It takes an awful while to kind of think, ‘Crikey, I’ve got to get out of this. It’s not safe and it’s not good’.”
The brunette beauty put part of her struggles down to naivety and being too trusting of other people who may have had other intentions at heart.
(Image: Mirrorpix)
She added: “Up to my mid-thirties I’d got ‘very nice thank you very much’ but then things went dark for a number of years.
“You can portion blame to naivety and to being too trusting because I thought everyone was from good stuff and nicely brought up to getting it terribly wrong.”
But the stunning TV star confessed the idea of an autobiography wouldn’t come into fruition until those involved in the sensitive stories had given their permission and sought help.
(Image: Facebook)
She explained: “It’s not until you’re in the stations that you realise ‘yokes’ this isn’t something you really study or help other people with, this can happen on your own doorstep literally.
“I will write about it when I feel that I know that people involved have gone and got themselves some support so they can know why they behaved the ways they behaved so they can take ownership of it.”
She warned: “Even a strong woman like Jet from the Gladiators can sadly attract, quite naively, people who have hidden agendas.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
