'The Jump' is axed after Beth Tweddle lawsuit

Channel 4’s The Jump has finally been axed, after dozens of its celebrity contestants suffered injuries and former Olympian Beth Tweddle filed a lawsuit against the company that makes the show.

Ian Katz, the new boss of the channel, told The Daily Mirror that it has ‘no plans’ to bring the show back after it was ‘rested’ last winter.

The show, which was filmed in Austria and challenged celebrities with no previous experience to take on the notoriously dangerous sport of ski jumping, ran for four seasons.

But over the course of the show, 34 of the celebrities involved suffered injuries.

Most recently, Beth Tweddle, who appeared in the 2016 series, announced she was suing showmakers Twofour, which is owned by ITV, for £200,000 in damages.

Former gymnast Tweddle, who won a bronze medal in the 2012 Olympics, had to be airlifted from the slopes during the third series, has said that she’s never fully recovered from the injuries she sustained, which affected her ability to work.

She suffered to fractured vertebrae and needed surgery on her spine.

After filing the suit last week, her lawyer Demetrius Danas said: “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.”

Tweddle added: “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.

“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. 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.”

Nearly half the contestants in the 2016 series dropped out due to injury.

Holby City actress Tin Hobley broke her arm, runner Linford Christie injured his hamstring, Made in Chelsea’s Mark-Francis Vandelli broke his ankle, and Olympian Rebecca Adlington dislocated her shoulder.

She later described the pain as being worse than childbirth.

Strictly’s Ola Jordan, who appeared on the show in 2015, suffered ligament damage and said that her leg would ‘never be the same’, while cyclist Bradley Wiggins broke his leg during snowcross training.

The show was hosted by Davina McColl, with ski jump legend Eddie ‘The Eagle’ Edwards as a mentor.

Read more
Jeremy Hardy dies at 57
Mickey Rooney’s Golden Globe sells at auction
Bake Off’s Nadiya opens up about anxiety