Beth Tweddle is taking legal action against the makers of The Jump after she suffered serious injuries on the Channel 4 series in 2016. The 33-year-old, who was the first female gymnast from Great Britain to win a medal at the Olympics, required surgery on her neck and spinal cord after she crashed into a barrier during training for the reality show. She is now taking legal action to ensure "full accountability for people involved in creating shows like this" and to prevent other people suffering the same fate.
"It's been a long journey and my recovery is still ongoing," she said. "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." She added: "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."
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The sports star, who is pregnant with her first child, concluded: "But 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." Beth was the third celebrity to suffer an accident on the 2016 series of The Jump. Olympic swimmer Rebecca Adlington was the first to leave the show, having dislocated her shoulder, quickly followed by actress Tina Hobley, who dislocated her elbow. Meanwhile, Made In Chelsea's Mark-Francis Vandelli and Olympic gold medal-winner Linford Christie were among the other celebrity participants who were injured while taking part in the same series.
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In a past interview with HELLO!, beth revealed the impact the accident had had on her relationship with husband Andy Allen: "If anything, the accident has brought us closer together," she said. "When I first went into a hotel in Austria, before I was able to fly home, I’d have to ask him to wash and dry my hair. It's not the sort of thing you normally ask your boyfriend, 'Can you cook my tea? Can you dress me?' But we can laugh about it now."
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