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Former Gladiators star Diane Youdale has told how she asked for her skimpy show costume to be made even more revealing.
Diane, who was sex symbol Jet, wanted to show off her cleavage and make her legs look longer after she was initially put in “Bridget Jones pants”.
While the stars on the upcoming reboot will be more covered up, Diane says: “I was a bit guilty of making my costume a little bit smaller.
READ MORE: Gladiators Jet legend reveals she quit show after injury saw her neck 'crack'
“I had these Bridget Jones pants they originally put me in and I kind of made them more bikini bottoms to make my legs look longer.
“I ended up going back to this costume designer and saying: ‘I’ve got a bit of cleavage’.
“I wasn’t very body confident but there was a part of me that wanted to make the most of how I physically looked.”
Gladiators saw contenders take on super-fit stars of the arena in challenges such as Hang Tough, which involved swinging from rings, and Atlaspheres, where they rolled around in giant cages.
Olympians, bodybuilders and other sport stars are among the Gladiators for the reboot, which will be presented by Bradley Walsh and his son Barney and is due to air later this year or early next.
The original series ran between 1992 and 2000, at a time where skinny models such as Kate Moss were idolised.
And Diane says: “Coming into the early 90s, the idea of a feminine look was emaciation.
“I looked at us in the arena and thought, ‘Bloody brilliant, we’re functionally fit athletes, what a positive message finally coming out.’
“For me the show in the early 90s was a statement about fit women that can be glamorous and it felt good.”
But speaking to Daily Star on behalf of ICE 36, Diane, 53, admits she never considered herself a pin-up and relied on her tan to feel confident.
She says: “You can’t sit in your own body and go, ‘Yeah I was a sex symbol’ because that’s about somebody else’s perspective. I didn’t feel it, let’s just say that.
“As long as I had enough tan on me to make me feel comfortable that was about it.”
Diane, who’s now a psychotherapist, was hoping she would be involved in the new series but she reveals the old cast were only invited to be audience members.
She says: “The only thing they’ve asked any of the original Gladiators to do is go and sit in the audience where they can point a camera at you and watch your reaction.
“If I’m going to be involved, I’d rather be a background consultant for the mental health aspect of it.
“Being a psychotherapist, use me for what I’ve got now and my knowledge, but don’t just ask me to sit in the audience.”
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Diane left the show after four-and-a-half years, aged 26, when she suffered a neck injury while competing on the Pyramid.
But she’s still in touch with nearly all her fellow Gladiators. She says: “When we meet up we realise how much of a unique experience being in that arena was for us.
“It was family-based, they made us look beautiful and I’m really proud of that. Sometimes we just cry laughing – 'remember when Wolf did this, when Warrior did that?’
“It’s a unique camaraderie because you shared something quite rare.”
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- Gladiators
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