Katie: I talked traumatised soldier out of killing himself
Star relives her own acid attack hell facing 999 dramas as a frontline cop
ACID attack survivor Katie Piper helped save an ex-soldier with PTSD who was threatening to shoot himself.
In dramatic TV scenes, the mum of two is seen working as a frontline special constable when she is called to help talk down a suicidal Army veteran.
Katie and the rest of her team were able to help the man and get him the support he needed just in time.
The drama unfolds in Channel 4’s Famous and Fighting Crime series and led to her reliving her own terrifying acid attack ordeal. She was diagnosed with PTSD in the aftermath – and she says her experience was crucial as she calmly spoke to the suffering soldier.
HEARTBREAKING
Katie, 35, says helping him was the highlight of her stint on the show. “We were there as one human to another, to listen and give him time, which is such a valuable currency,” she said. “Coming face to face with someone with PTSD is always heartbreaking.
“Mine was so bad in the beginning it made feel like if anyone came close to me they might do something to me – they could kill me. It makes you feel under threat. It took me two and half years to get past severe PTSD. Not being able to leave home, not being able to be around males, not being able to be approached by strangers, unable to sleep for the first years. So I do understand.
“You don’t get fixed and move on. Mine was lurking at the back.”
In the series, in which celebrities put on uniforms to help police deal with 999 calls, Katie also had to dash into a burning building to help rescue people living there.
She said that went against her instincts after the 2008 attack in which her ex Daniel Lynch had arranged for accomplice Stefan Sylvestre to throw sulphuric acid into her face. She had third degree burns and was blinded in one eye.
“I vowed I’d never put myself in danger again, and then here I am putting myself in the thick of it,” she says. “I was really going outside my comfort zone, but I believe that’s a healthy thing.
“It was difficult, but I believe it’s important it wasn’t just about the police.
I was also interested in the people committing the crime and the victims, understanding we are all one life deci- sion or life-changing thing away from becoming that person who may be in a desperate situation.” The former Strictly star says her time on the beat gave her a new respect for what the police do, and how they control their emotions in such a difficult situation.
“They have to just get on with it, checking in with themselves and burying their own issues while wearing that uniform,” she says. “We should celebrate the police, they are superhuman.
VULNERABLE
“I have added admiration for them as they have to look after their mental wellbeing. They’re so vulnerable to PTSD and depression. They’re doing the job because they care about safety and people being wronged.”
She now wants more done to support emergency services. “We have police, fire and ambulance but we need one for mental health. The police aren’t equipped for it. It shouldn’t be put on to them.”
We were there as one human to another. To listen and give him our valuable time
KATIE PIPER ON HER ENCOUNTER WITH SUICIDAL PTSD SOLDIER