Former 'I'm A Celebrity' contestant Iain Lee says show's aftercare is 'inadequate'
Former I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! campmate Iain Lee has described the aftercare on the programme as "inadequate".
The radio host, who competed on the 2017 edition of the ITV show, said there "could have been more help" following his stint on the competition.
“The mental health care that you get before you go in is probably inadequate (and) when you come out it is definitely inadequate,” he told the PA news agency.
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Lee said getting a good sleep in the jungle was a "nightmare" and noted: "I get that that’s part of the show… but not having sleep is dangerous. It’s a form of torture."
However, he stated that he wasn't complaining about the show as he "had a great time" and the experience "turned [his] career around".
Although the 46-year-old did add: “There certainly could have been more help.”
Several of his fellow campmates including Rebekah Vardy, Amir Khan, Dennis Wise and Jamie Lomas were criticised for their behaviour toward Lee in the jungle. But after leaving the show he went on to say the word bullying was "a bit strong" to describe his experiences.
Addressing the care he had access to after the show concluded, Lee explained to PA: "I think they paid for a couple of sessions to see my psychiatrist which I would have seen anyway and I had a phone call asking if I’d like to come in and I said I didn’t want to go in and that was that…
“Meanwhile I’m going off the rails and going nuts. Not as a direct result of the jungle but immediately after the jungle I went a little bit nuts.”
A spokesperson for the programme said: “The duty of care of our contestants is of the utmost importance to us.
“We take the welfare of the celebrities very seriously and have measures in place to ensure they are supported at every stage of the process.”
Lee's comments come as ITV made changes to their duty of care for Love Island participants in the wake of former contestant Mike Thalassitis' suicide earlier this year. It came after another Islander, Sophie Gradon, took her own life in 2018.
Questions about the broadcaster's duty of care were also raised following the death of The Jeremy Kyle Show participant Steve Dymond in May.
MPs on the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee have since criticised ITV Studios for failing in its ‘corporate responsibility’ to guests.
For confidential emotional support at times of distress, contact The Samaritans at any time by calling 116 123 or emailing jo@samaritans.org.
