A BLACKBURN swimming teacher said she was devastated to miss out on appearing on TV's Gladiators after seriously injuring herself during a rehearsal.

Diane Bonaminio was to compete in front of the cameras tomorrow, but instead she'll be in the audience after tearing a hamstring while training for the show on Friday.

Diane, 31, of Ontario Close, Lammack, Blackburn, was practising a new game called Vertigo, 30ft above the ground when she felt her hamstring pop as she prepared to leap a gap. "It was very painful," said Diane. "It just tore apart and I was left hanging on at the top."

Watching trainers at the National Indoor Arena, Birmingham, heard the muscle tear and she was lowered to the ground for treatment. Diane was given physiotherapy twice a day and returned home on Sunday. She's now on crutches and her leg will need daily treatment before healing in six to eight weeks.

But organisers have promised her a place in the programme next year and Diane, who works out five times a week, said she was already looking forward to getting back in training.

"All the trainers were really upset and they said I would blast it next year," she said. "I was devastated, but I'm going for it next year and I know all the games now."

More than 150 of her friends and relatives had booked coaches to travel to Birmingham and watch her perform and they've decided to go ahead with the trip.

"I don't know how I will feel watching someone else in my place, but we've been invited to meet the Gladiators afterwards and the kids are excited," she said. "Hopefully, my physiotherapist can sort me out and I'll be a contender next year."

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