Ella-Mae Rayner (born 24 April 1995) is an English former elite

gymnast Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, sh ...

, fitness model and television personality, known for appearing as "Comet" in

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's sports game show ''

Gladiators A gladiator ( , ) was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their ...

''.

Early life and education

Ella-Mae Rayner was born on 24 April 1995 in

Stevenage Stevenage ( ) is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevenage w ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

, and moved and raised in

Rotherham Rotherham ( ) is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies at the confluence of the River Rother, South Yorkshire, River Rother, from which the town gets its name, and the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don. It is the largest settlement ...

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the north, the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north-east, Lincolnshire ...

, at the age of three. She gained a sports degree at the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

Career

Rayner previously competed in elite level

gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...

in her younger years,

diving Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), ...

as a teen and then

cheerleading Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense Physical exercise, physical activity. It can be performed to motivate s ...

at national level during her time at university . However, a serious

ankle The ankle, the talocrural region or the jumping bone (informal) is the area where the foot and the leg meet. The ankle includes three joints: the ankle joint proper or talocrural joint, the subtalar joint, and the inferior tibiofibular joint. The ...

injury changed her career. Unable to continue with cheerleading or gymnastics, Rayner found herself in the gym. Nowadays she trains up to six days a week, in addition to working as a fitness model and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

. She has also gained a following on social media, primarily on

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

and

TikTok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...

, latter in which she has over 600 thousand followers. In 2023, she was named as one of the ''Gladiators'' in the game show of the same name. Earning the fierce moniker "Comet", she has been described as the "new eneration'sJet" (

Diane Youdale Diane Patricia Youdale (born 13 February 1970) is an English television personality, who played Jet on the television series '' Gladiators.'' Career In 1990, Youdale played the She-Wolf in the Finnegan/Pinchuk Company, HTV and MCA Television ...

), who herself also came from a similar gymnastics background. Due to her

elegance Elegance is beauty that shows unusual effectiveness and simplicity. Elegance is frequently used as a standard of Taste (sociology), tastefulness, particularly in visual design, decorative arts, literature, science, and Mathematical beauty, the ...

, dynamic flexibility and strength, Rayner's favourite event on the show is " Hang Tough", in which she unfortunately suffered a severe

leg A leg is a weight-bearing and locomotive anatomical structure, usually having a columnar shape. During locomotion, legs function as "extensible struts". The combination of movements at all joints can be modeled as a single, linear element cap ...

injury during the filmings of the first series. Her appearances restricted to three episodes, as she was forced to retire for the rest of the series. However, she said to have been in full recovery and is set to return "even stronger" for the second series.

Personal life

Rayner, standing at 5 ft 8 in tall, is in relationship with her entrepreneur fiancé James Exton.

References

External links

Instagram
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rayner, Ella-Mae Living people 1995 births People from Stevenage People from Rotherham Sportspeople from Hertfordshire Sportspeople from Rotherham British gymnasts Female gymnasts