THE terrible injury to Olympic gymnast Beth Tweddle shows just how dangerous reality television shows can be.

Tweddle needed neck surgery after falling while training for Channel Four’s The Jump and remains in hospital.

She is one of three celebrities to withdraw from the show, with swimmer Rebecca Adlington and actress Tina Hobley also hurting themselves, albeit far less seriously.

It calls into question the wisdom of television companies asking people to undertake activities of which they have little or no experience.

Eddie The Eagle might have made a career out of ski jumping during the 1980s, but that doesn’t mean we should all try it. Similarly, you have to wonder why anyone would want to put themselves in that position in the first place.

Surely the money can’t be that good?

While nobody would wish such an injury on anyone, Tweddle, and her fellow competitors, knew the risks when they signed up.

Every time a show ramps up the adrenalin levels, the punters lap it up.

There seems to be an insatiable appetite among the British viewing public for more and more outlandish activities and no shortage of celebrities willing to put themselves forward.

So, in turn, more programmes are made, and the cycle continues. I sincerely hope Tweddle, one of the finest gymnasts of her generation, makes a full and speedy recovery.

Maybe incidents like this will make people realise that the boundaries of expectation have been pushed too far.

There’ll come a point when enough is enough.