Gladiators’ icon Comet emotionally opened up about her tragic accident on the BBC show last year and how she ‘had to pick herself back up again and go for it’.

But the former gymnast, 29, credited the horrific injury as the ‘reason I am where I am today’.

The TV alum – whose real name is Ella-Mae Rayner – was forced to quit the gruelling compeтιтion after falling 30ft from The Wall, leaving her nearly paralysed.

Chatting ahead of Saturday’s H๏τly-anticipated final, the ex cheerleader said: ‘Being a Gladiator isn’t just about physical challenges.

‘There are so many mental challenges too, and with my injury I had to pick myself back up again and go for it.

Crediting her family for the unconditional support, she added: ‘Most of that resilience comes from the discipline of gymnastics, which was instilled in me at a very young age, but the rest comes from my mum and my brother.

Gladiators’ icon Comet, 29, emotionally opened up about her tragic accident on the BBC show last year and how she ‘had to pick herself back up again and go for it’

The TV alum – whose real name is Ella-Mae Rayner – was forced to quit the gruelling compeтιтion after falling 30ft from The Wall, leaving her nearly paralysed (pictured in 2023)

‘Mum has given me so much support and inspiration — she’s sacrificed so much to give me the best life — she helped my brother and me through that family trauma.

‘When you go through something that traumatic, you either break or it makes you.’

‘I think about that every day, and it is deep down without doubt the reason I am where I am today.’

The gym-fanatic was also quick to double down on why muscular can also mean girly. 

‘Previously, women have been told that being muscular just makes you look like a man, but that’s absolutely not the case.

‘I have muscles but I’m a proper girly girl.’

She added: ‘I love shopping, I love beauty, I love fashion and getting all dressed up.

‘But I also love being powerful, being strong, muscular.

Chatting ahead of tonight’s H๏τly-anticipated fina, she said: ‘Being a Gladiator isn’t just about physical challenges. There are so many mental challenges too, and with my injury I had to pick myself back up again and go for it’ 

Comet stressed: ‘I have muscles but I’m a proper girly girl. I love shopping, I love beauty, I love fashion and getting all dressed up’

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‘That doesn’t stop a girl from being a princess.

‘I’ve been told that I’ve got one of the strongest hits on Duel [one of the show’s main events], and you might think that’s a game for someone who is more bulky, who looks physically stronger — but you can’t judge a book by its cover.

‘There’s a range of different bodies on this show, and different fitness types, and that’s amazing.

‘Everybody is individual, we’re all built differently, and it’s important to showcase that there are different body shapes, different sizes, different muscle mᴀsses, while always being the best version of yourself,’ Comet finished.