Former Olympic gymnast Beth Tweddle has revealed she is taking legal action against the Channel 4 reality show ‘The Jump’, claiming injuries she sustained on the show are still affecting her to this day.
Beth was a contestant on ‘The Jump’ in January 2016, but had to withdraw after a week when she crashed into a barrier during training, leaving her with fractured vertebrae and in need of surgery on her neck and spinal cord.
Three years on, Beth has now announced she intends to take legal action against the show, as they have refused to accept responsibility for her injuries.
Her lawyer said in an official statement: “She has had to put many parts of her life and career on hold and while Beth is making a good recovery, she still cannot do many of the things she previously could as an elite athlete and may never fully recover.
“Despite attempts to settle the legal case amicably, the defendants involved in making The Jump have so far denied any liability for her injuries and we have been left with no choice but to issue court proceedings as we seek to resolve the case.”
Beth said of the matter: “It’s been a long journey and my recovery is still ongoing. I’m not sure I’ll ever be 100% again.
“The effects of my accident still interrupt my daily life and aside from the severe physical injuries at the start, the hardest part of the recovery process has been the psychological element, dealing with and processing the whole accident and the aftermath of what happened.
“I said before that I don’t want this accident to define me and I work hard every day to ensure that isn’t the case.”
She continued: “It’s disappointing that we have had to seek court proceedings as we had hoped the makers of the programme might be willing to work with us to settle the case.
“I just want to make sure that there is full accountability for people involved in creating shows like this and to help prevent others having to go through what I have for the past three years.”
A spokesperson for production company Twofour told HuffPost UK: “This matter is being dealt with by our insurers and we are unable to comment as the claim is ongoing.”
Six months after her accident, Beth revealed she was still seeing a therapist to help her deal with the accident and the ensuing trauma she experienced.
“I didn’t panic at the time, it was when I flew back to the UK [and] I realised the journey I’d have to go on - the recovery phase, rehab, surgeons, physics,” she explained. “People couldn’t realise how serious it was. I couldn’t even deal with it.
Beth’s fellow contestant Tina Hobley also sustained an injury during the same series, admitting shortly afterwards that she too was considering taking legal action against the show.
Last month, Beth announced she and her husband Andy Allen were expecting their first child.