Gladiators star Jet’s estranged wife has slammed the decision to allow the ‘self-confessed domestic abuser’ appear on the live show.
Jet, whose real name is Diane Youdale, endured an ill-fated 18-month marriage to Zoe Gilbert that ended in acrimony with both women admitting the whole thing had been a disaster.
The Nineties pin-up, 54, herself admitted to developing an alcohol problem and attacking her wife, 51, because she felt bullied by her.
Meanwhile Zoe hit back, saying she had been left with PTSD from her time with the star.
Now she says she is ‘horrified’ that Jet has been welcomed back into the fold at the Gladiators Experience, a live show running from May until the end of August at Birmingham’s NEC.
Speaking exclusively to the Daily Mail, Zoe, from Stockton on Tees, County Durham, said: ‘I was shocked to discover that Diane is being allowed back into the Gladiators show and amazed that the BBC would want her anywhere near it.
‘If this was a man who had behaved in the way that she has, there would be outrage and they would be allowed nowhere near a family show like Gladiators.
‘Even if you take Diane’s own word for it, she admits that she physically assaulted me. But the reality is so much worse than she’s letting on.’
Jet admitted to developing an alcohol problem and attacking her wife, Zoe, 51, because she felt bullied by her
Zoe (pictured) said she had been left with PTSD from her time with the star
Zoe made a number of claims against Diane (pictured) during their traumatic time together
Indeed, new details of their disastrous relationship have emerged as it’s revealed Zoe tried to press charges against Diane last year for beating her during a domestic violence incident at their home in October 2023.
Zoe claims that Diane threatened to ‘kill’ her during a traumatic phone call in November last year.
‘I was extremely glad I was nowhere near her at that moment because I know what she’s capable of when there is that kind of rage in her voice’.
Neighbours had been forced to intervene during the 2023 incident after hearing cries for help from Zoe as the one-time Gladiator forcibly pinned her down allegedly resulting in ‘knife-like’ wounds on her back.
Police were called and Diane was advised to leave the semi-detached house their both shared in Stockton-on-Tees – although Zoe declined to press charges at the time.
She said: ‘We hadn’t been married long and I foolishly thought we could somehow make things right.
‘The walls of the house were spattered with blood and I was left with all kinds of injuries, although I was so frightened I could not remember clearly what happened.
‘In December last year I asked for a review of the case and submitted all the pictures as evidence.
‘The officers eventually said that because of the time that had elapsed and the fact I had originally not chosen to bring charges there was little prospect the CPS would bring charges.’
Diane described Zoe’s claims as ‘ridiculous.’
She said: ‘Unfortunately Zoe is a fantasist, bullied me about my past and she sadly is a self harmer. I believe this to be true of her childhood.
‘It was impossible to live with her because of this and I felt like I’d been stalked (again) hoodwinked and set up.
‘A horrible time of my life that needs to stay in the past. I don’t need retraumatising.’
Sent from my iPhone
Diane made a career as a wholesome Ninties pin-up, inspiring a legion of male and female fans due to her athletic prowess and girl next door image.
Zoe says she was ‘gas-lighted and manipulated’ throughout her marriage by the one-time television star.
And she claims that Diane used Zoe’s troubled childhood and grief over family bereavements against her.
‘I had a childhood of physical abuse and neglect from my mother which traumatised me.’
Zoe’s three brothers all died tragically young, the most recent in December 2021, and her treasured family photos were all she had left of them.
She said: ‘I came home one day to find that Diane had cut the pictures up to make them into a collage.
‘It was something she seemed to think I should be grateful for but I was so upset. The pictures meant so much to me and she hadn’t asked.
‘She was furious when I complained and threw a commemorative glass that had been made for my brother at a patio door, smashing it.’
The couple eventually split for good in July 2024 and Zoe claims that Diane quickly moved on with a new man.
Jet from the original 90s series, went through a highly publicized and ‘toxic’ divorce from her wife, Zoe Gilbert
In July 2023, Diane publicly shared her relationship with Zoe, catching many fans off guard as they had previously assumed the former Gladiator was straight
She said: ‘She was in touch asking to FaceTime me while he was there, but then said ‘no, I’d better not, he’s naked.’
‘She told me on another occasion that she was crawling naked across his landing.
‘At this point we were still technically married and I was still suffering anxiety and pain over our marriage. It felt as though I was being taunted.
Diane is believed to now be living in the Scottish borders and continues to run her own psychotherapy practice, offering first appointments for £65.
In May she will join stars of the original Gladiators show – Hunter, Saracen and Lightning – in the live show and continues to host the Gladiators’ GladPod podcast.
Diane has previously admitted she was taken away by the police on a night in 2023 when neighbours called officers.
She has explained: ‘She (Zoe) fell over the back of the sofa. I pressed on her chest three times firmly and I said, ‘stop this now.’ I can’t
remember what happened then. The next thing I knew I was being led out by the police.’
Diane has said in the aftermath of the arrest she felt suicidal.
‘She pushed me to the limit to suddenly make me the baddie, which is as clear as day now. She took pictures of her injuries, none of which I inflicted,’ said Diane in an interview with the Daily Mail last year.
She has claimed I picked her up at the top of the stairs and threw her down but if anything, I have a disc rupture.
‘I would only lay hands on someone in rage if they were attacking a minor or an animal or in self-defence and I was never in self-defence around her. This was the final moment between us.’
Despite the personal turmoil of 2025, she is currently preparing for a major Gladiators Experience event at the NEC in Birmingham alongside other 90s icons like Hunter, Saracen, and Lightning
The shock of the disintegration of her relationship caused her to stop drinking.
‘I stopped drinking in 2024 and I haven’t touched a drop since. I am so proud of myself for that.
‘I could see what it was doing to me, and I stopped overnight, it served no purpose in my life, and I needed to be strong enough and clear enough with all my facts in the right place.
‘It was a terrible depressor, and I can’t believe I did it to myself for so long.
She claims the pair would drink every night and rows would start around the same time, usually sparked by Zoe’s concerns over her ex-partners and current work colleagues.
‘Usually between 9-9:30pm, the same record would come out, I would say, ‘Zoe this is getting repetitive, please stop this,’ said Diane.
‘She accused me of sleeping with all my clients, all my friends, can you imagine being accused of that? She never understood me and celebrated nothing about the triumphs or successes in my life.’
Diane revealed she was in a relationship with Zoe in July 2023, surprising fans who assumed she was straight.
Indeed, she was previously married to TV exec George Mayhew and also dated fellow Gladiator Hunter, real name James Crossley, during the show’s heyday.
Diane described how she and Zoe met in a supermarket, a sweet story which captured the public’s imagination after the couple proudly told Lorraine viewers of their chance encounter.
In the aftermath of the bitter split, Diane suggested that Zoe had staged the moment and likened it to being pursued by a ‘wolf.’
She claimed: ‘Our meeting wasn’t by chance…the research had been done. She knew my past relationships. It was creepy and weird.
Following their final separation in July 2024, Zoe alleged that Diane had wasted no time in starting a new relationship with a man
This had been contrived from the beginning by her, she knew where I would be in the supermarket and what time. I was naïve as hell.’
Zoe said: ‘It was really hurtful to read what she said. How could I research a thing like that, it was exactly what it seemed, a chance meeting and it was Diane who started the conversation by asking my name.
‘It was clear there was some attraction there and I ended up asking her on a date. I can’t believe she’s now twisted that into something so unpleasant, it’s just not true.’
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