Mother’s ruin or the best dressed?
When my family was first suddenly and unexpectedly in the public eye at the start of the boys’ professional careers, there was a definite period of adjustment and a steep learning curve for all of us.
The management company didn’t have a PR expert to guide you through what to expect, and agents looked at what earnings could be made out of you in the short and long-term. Counselling clients isn’t seen as part of their role, and if the money stops coming in, you usually find you’re dropped like a hot potato.
So we learned through mistakes until we were in a position to afford to bring in a PR consultant to help us.
In sport, athletes tend to have a number of years to develop, adapt, build a support network and plan ahead. That’s very different to what happens in reality TV where contestants become famous overnight during an intensive run on prime-time television which then comes to an abrupt end.
At that point, they are sent out into the world where they try to make as much of the opportunity as they can, work their new social media and tabloid followings and stay relevant.
It is a lot for anyone to cope with, and the tragic passing of Love Island star Mike Thalassitis, whose death followed the suicides last year of fellow contestant Sophie Gradon and her boyfriend, is a poignant reminder of the risks of instant celebrity. I’ve seen it close up. One minute a person can barely walk down the street without being asked for a selfie or an autograph, the next they are back working in a bakery or whatever they were doing before.
With a reality series, there is often intense scrutiny during and immediately after the show, then there are the opportunities and big bucks that flow from it. But when the next series begins and a new crop of contestants are in the limelight, last year’s contestants can go from hero to zero in a heartbeat and that’s a harsh reality. Add in to that life’s challenges and tragedies, and it’s not hard to see why some find it so tough.
I’m glad to hear that ITV is reviewing the level of support it provides to reality contestants because the onus is on the TV companies to guide them through what to expect before, during and after.
They also need to work with the celebrity support acts – the parents and close friends of those taking part so they know what to expect too. Their role in “being there” through the highs and lows is critical.
It will take a mix of both PR advice and counselling to truly prepare the families involved.
‘ The tragic passing of Love Island star is a reminder of the risks