We must protect troubled reality TV stars, says minister
TV BOSSES were facing an inquiry last night into how they can protect their troubled stars in the wake of Caroline Flack’s death.
nadine dorries, the minister for suicide prevention and mental health, will examine what potential measures the entertainment industry could implement to help celebrities suffering from the ‘psychological effect of reputational damage’.
She said the death of the ‘talented and beautiful’ Miss Flack had ‘rocked the country in a way the deaths of other public figures have not’.
Miss dorries said she hoped the probe would establish ‘an awareness of how words really do cost lives’ and show that the responsibility for suicide prevention ‘belongs to every single one of us’.
The minister pledged Government funding towards the move and will be inviting TV, Press and social media bosses to discussions on the issue. Psychiatrists who specialise in suicide prevention and representatives from Ofcom, the broadcast regulator, will also be present.
Miss dorries said: ‘I have decided it is time for us to look deeper into the psychological effect of reputational damage and what measures the entertainment industry can put into place to protect those who as a result of fame and success, fall victim to loss and grief in a way which can lead to a catastrophic and tragic result.’ She
‘Words really do cost lives’
expressed a hope that the discussion would lead to a reduction in the number of people taking their own life.
‘We all have a responsibility to keep people safe,’ Miss dorries said.
‘There is no point in a law dictating to the media, if production companies, online platforms and we in society, don’t play our role too. I hope it will be the first step towards establishing an awareness of how words really do cost lives.’
Miss Flack, who had been suffering from depression and panic attacks, was found dead at her London home last Saturday.
The 40-year-old former Love Island presenter had just learned that her assault trial was to go ahead, despite her boyfriend Lewis Burton, 27, telling prosecutors that he had not suffered any significant injury and did not want her to be charged.
Her managers have accused the Crown Prosecution Service of pushing for a ‘show trial’, saying it put enormous pressure on the fragile star.
Miss dorries’s plans for an inquiry come after a raft of senior MPs expressed concern over the duty of care on reality TV.
Earlier this week, Love Island returned to the screens after a two-day break out of respect for its former presenter.
The ITV2 show contained details during the ad breaks on how to contact mental health charity Samaritans.
Miss Flack was the fourth person with links to the show to take their own life.
Contestants Sophie Gradon, 32, and Mike Thalassitis, 26, killed themselves after appearing on the show. Miss Gradon’s boyfriend Aaron Armstrong, 25, took his life weeks after her death.