Two Gladiators performers have been forced to withdraw from the BBC revival due to injuries that have left one of them hospitalised.
Comet and Sabre were poised to join the likes of Fury and Legend as a completely new generation of superhuman Gladiators in the ultimate test of speed, skill, stamina, and strength against a bold set of challengers.
Gladiators will return to BBC after a two-decade hiatus, with father-son combination Barney Walsh and Bradley Walsh leading the way.
Comet, actual name Ella-Mae Rayner, and Sabre, Sheli McCoy, have had to withdraw.
Comet, a former competitive gymnast, posted a series of photos from a hospital bed, showing one of her feet encased in a cast before recovering in a boot and being supported by her Gladiators co-stars.
She wrote: “‘Life is not about how hard you hit, it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving’ Right now, this quote couldn’t ring truer. To put this into context, I just wanted to explain my current situation and reasoning behind my social media absence since filming for Gladiators came to an end.
‘During the filming of one of the games I sustained a severe foot injury. Multiple scans and X-rays later I found out that I had broken my ankle and foot in multiple places, including the talus and something known as a lisfranc injury, ruptured 3 ligaments and dislocated a bone. If you’re gonna do it, do it properly right 😅
‘As I write this, I am now resting up following an operation to fix my foot and stabilise the broken bones. I know that the road ahead for recovery is long but my spirits remain high and I still had the time of my life whilst filming Gladiators.
‘All I know is that I’ve bounced back from injury before, and I’ll do it again. I will be documenting the entirety of my recovery across my socials including how I am going to go about adapting life to give me the speediest return possible.’
Ella-Mae continued:’ To my fellow Gladiators, family, and close friends. I am struggling to find the words to describe how grateful I am for you all. From the bottom of my heart, you could not have shown me greater compassion, love, and support throughout the show. You have all shown what it truly means to be a team.
‘This is just a minor blip in the road and ignites the fire in me to come back better and stronger than ever before. For anyone going through something similar, you are not alone. Injuries are frustrating and often out of our control and actually the biggest battle is not the physical one but the mental one. Join me on the road to recovery and together we can and we will overcome the setbacks.’
Meanwhile, Sabre posted a photo of herself on crutches with her leg wrapped on social media.
Sheli, who owns her own gym and trains for 16-19 hours each day, wrote: ‘Sometimes you are the hammer … sometimes you are the nail. Whilst filming for Gladiators I incurred a little battle injury – a hamstring tear.
‘Up to that point, every single day was a blessing and every event an unforgettable experience that I would repeat in a second. I’m so thankful for such a phenomenal opportunity and I gave my absolute everything in each event to do justice to such an honour and privilege.’
She added that her rehabilitation process is ‘underway and going very well’ with the help of her physio’s guidance.
‘I’m no stranger to rehabilitation practise, having run my own sports injury clinic and specialising in athlete recovery strategy, so I’m confident that these next few months will allow me to focus on areas of imbalance, enjoy alternative training methods, and document a recovery process for others to learn and be motivated by’,’ Sheli continued.
‘I have to thank the medical staff and production team appointed to the gladiators as they assessed, monitored and cared for me relentlessly post injury and to date! SABRE will be on cage rest for a few weeks so brace yourself when she’s allowed back out 🐅🐾❤️🔥😏.’
A BBC spokesperson said: ‘The health and well-being of all Gladiators, contenders and crew is of paramount importance. Gladiators is one of the toughest and most physically demanding programmes on TV and due to the high-impact nature of the show it is not unusual for those competing to suffer injuries. In each instance, as soon as it became apparent that a potential injury had occurred, the correct protocol was immediately followed. The injured Gladiators are currently following medical advice and working on their recoveries.’
Gladiators are no strangers to injuries, with a former American version star recently revealing the horrific injuries he experienced on the programme, including a concussion on his first day with his skull split open.
On his first day, the now-62-year-old took part in a ‘Human Cannonball,’ which featured a fellow participant named Tarzan hanging on a rope and crashing with him, with just a football blocking pad to save him from falling from a platform.
‘None of the producers or directors came up and talked to me about it. Nobody wanted to say what happened and it was like they wanted to sweep it under the rug,’ he claimed.
His doctor apparently advised him not to participate, but he ‘begged’ to return.
Gladiators returns to BBC later this year.
