Bernadette Hunt, the star behind British show Gladiators‘ legend Falcon, has died. She was 59.
Hunt’s death was announced by her sister Carol’s partner, Rick Jango, on social media, with Jango revealing she had battled cancer for “a number of years” and calling her one of the “loveliest people” he knew.
“It is with great sadness that I have to tell you of my partner’s younger sister Bernadette Hunt,” Jango wrote on a closed Facebook group in late March alongside photos of Hunt from the show.
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“Most people will remember her as Falcon from the hit TV Show Gladiators,” Jango continued.
“I had the privilege to be in her company a few times and I have to say she was one of the most loveliest people I have ever met.
“She never had a bad word to say about anyone, indeed she was always known as the nicest Gladiator, always stopping to speak and sign autographs for anyone.”
“She had been battling cancer for a number of years until sadly she lost the fight. RIP Bernie,” he concluded.
Jango confirmed that the funeral for Hunt would be a private, family-only event.
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”My beautiful sister was the best kind of human being on this earth,” Hunt’s sister, Carol, wrote.
The Gladiators official Instagram page also shared a tribute to Hunt of their own, confirming she had died on March 14.
Hunt joined ITV’s Gladiators in its second season in 1993, and was known among fans as being the “nicest” Gladiator.
From 1994 to 1995, she starred in the international version of the series, and remained an integral part of the show until its end in 1999.
Hunt was also a successful bodybuilder, winning Miss Natural Health in 1992, and also later Miss Novice Britain, Miss London and Home Counties and Miss South Britain.
After her Gladiators fame, the mother-of-two worked as a personal trainer and fitness instructor in Basingstoke, a town in southern England.
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