Gladiators star Falcon dies aged 59: Tributes paid to ‘most lovely’ ballerina-turned-bodybuilder
Bernadette Hunt, who starred as Falcon in the hit 90s competitive sports combat game show Gladiators, has died aged 59.
The news was shared by her brother-in-law, Rick Jango, on a Facebook page celebrating showbiz from days gone by.
He wrote: “It is with great sadness that I have to tell you of my partner’s younger sister Bernadette Hunt. Most people will remember her as Falcon From the hit TV Show Gladiators.
“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 her fight. R.I.P. Bernie.”
Hunt’s sister, Carol, also commented, writing: “My beautiful sister was the best kind of human being on this earth.”
Suzanne Cox, who was Gladiator Vogue, wrote: “I found out a few days ago.”
Gladiators was a massive hit with audiences. Pic: BBC/PA
A statement on the Gladiators website said Hunt was “the most lovely, warm, generous person with a beaming smile”, adding: “Our Gladiator family is truly heartbroken with our loss of Bernie.”
The statement said she was the second longest-serving female Gladiator.
Stepping out of the limelight
The site goes on to describe her warmth as a competitor, saying: “Win or lose Falcon is always there to congratulate [her contenders]”.
Starring in series two to eight of Gladiators, Hunt had also performed in Gladiators live shows in Wembley and Sheffield.
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Since working on Gladiators, she had left the world of TV and became a personal trainer, holding classes at Basingstoke Sports Centre.
Hunt had said in previous interviews that she had turned down the chance to appear in a Gladiators series reboot, preferring instead to “keep a low profile”.
Broadcast from 1992 to 2000, at its peak Gladiators drew huge audiences to its Saturday evening ITV slot. It was revived on Sky One in 2008, and a second reboot is set to come to the BBC later this year.
Ballerina-turned-bodybuilder
She had fallen into the world of TV somewhat by accident after her plans to become a ballerina were crushed due to a back injury.
She had gone on to train as an aerobics teacher, before discovering the world of bodybuilding, and quickly winning several titles.
Hunt had previously been involved in fundraising for both Help the Aged and Children with Leukaemia.
Her brother-in-law said her funeral will be a private affair, attended by family only.
Hunt leaves behind two children, her husband Mark, son Adam, and young daughter Angel.
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Om Fahad: Iraqi social media influencer shot dead by gunman on motorbike who posed as food delivery rider – report
A well-known Iraqi social media influencer has reportedly been shot dead in her car by a gunman on a motorbike.
Om Fahad, whose real name is Ghufran Sawadi, was killed outside her home in Baghdad’s Zayouna district on Friday, according to the AFP news agency, citing security officials.
It appears the unidentified attacker pretended to be delivering food to the victim, one security source said.
Om Fahad, who has nearly half a million TikTok followers, became famous for posting light-hearted videos where she dances to Iraqi music.
Six days ago, she shared footage of herself driving in a car and also posing in front of a mirror. They have each been watched hundreds of thousands of times.
The influencer was sentenced to six months in prison in February last year for sharing videos that a court ruled contained “indecent speech that undermines modesty and public morality”.
A campaign was launched in 2023 by the Iraqi government to clamp down on social media content which broke the country’s “morals and traditions”.
The interior ministry set up a committee to look for “offensive” clips on platforms such as TikTok and YouTube, with several influencers being arrested.
“This type of content is no less dangerous than organised crime,” the ministry declared in a promotional video which asked the public to help by reporting such content.
“It is one of the causes of the destruction of the Iraqi family and society.”
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Speaking last year, interior ministry spokesman Saad Maan argued the morality campaign has “nothing to do with freedom of expression”.
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In 2018, gunmen in Baghdad shot dead Tara Fares, who was a model and influencer.
After years of war and sectarian conflict following the 2003 US invasion that overthrew dictator Saddam Hussein, Iraq has returned to some semblance of normality despite sporadic violence, political instability and corruption.
But civil liberties, particularly among women and sexual minorities, are still constrained in a conservative and male-dominated society.
R Kelly’s challenge against a 20-year sentence for child sex convictions has been quashed by an appeals court.
The singer was correctly sentenced to 20 years in prison, a Chicago court ruled on Friday.
He was convicted in 2022 on three charges of producing child sexual abuse images and three charges of enticement of minors for sex.
In his appeal, Kelly, 57, argued Illinois’ old statute of limitations – which required prosecution of child sex crime charges within 10 years – should have applied, rather than the current law permitting charges while an accuser is still alive.
The appeals court rejected this, labelling it an attempt by Kelly to elude the charges entirely after “employing a complex scheme to keep victims quiet”.
He also argued that charges involving one accuser should have been tried separately from the charges tied to three other accusers due to video evidence that became a focal point of the Chicago trial.
Prosecutors have said the video showed Kelly abusing a girl. The accuser, only identified as Jane, testified for the first time that she was 14 when the video was taken.
The three-judge panel from the appeals court noted jurors acquitted Kelly on seven of the 13 counts against him “even after viewing those abhorrent tapes”.
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In a written statement, Kelly’s attorney Jennifer Bonjean said they plan to seek a US Supreme Court review of the decision and “pursue all of his appellate remedies until we free R Kelly”.
“We are disappointed in the ruling, but our fight is far from over,” she said.
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