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Big Brother's Laura Carter speaks out on treatment of reality stars

Photo credit: Channel 5
Photo credit: Channel 5

From Digital Spy

A former Big Brother contestant has spoken out about the treatment of reality stars following the death of Love Island's Mike Thalassitis.

Laura Carter, who appeared on the 17th series of the former Channel 5 and Endemol UK show back in 2016, took to Twitter on Sunday (March 17) to share her belief that reality TV contestants do not get enough support from producers following their time on the show.

During the two separate posts, Laura also made allegations against the series, which aired its final episode on Channel 5 last year, claiming that the show "set her up to fail" and that producers were "trying to ruin" her.

"[Mike]’s yet another reality TV star that’s had no support since the show," Laura wrote. "I’ve been on the receiving end of producers trying to ruin me and journalists writing horrible things about me and defining me by what they saw on a show that’s renowned to make spectacles out of people.

"The year I was in Big Brother the theme was paranoia and pure negativity. I was doomed from the start," she added. "I was in a bad place after I did that show and it took me ages to heal and be happy again. I still hurt from it now, a lot. I felt like I was totally and utterly set up to fail from the word go.

"People don’t realise that even down to the words I spoke in my initial VT, the one that made the nation instantly dislike me, even though that’s not what I was about at all, it was all very cleverly put together."

Photo credit: Channel 5
Photo credit: Channel 5

Related: Former Love Island contestant Jonny Mitchell says show's aftercare is "too little too late" following Mike Thalassitis' death

She continued: "The producers sit there feeding you lines, probing you to answer in a certain way, they define you into a certain character, to tick a certain box & then they edit the shit out of it to make you look how they want you to look.

"I didn’t have a leg to stand on from the minute I walked out of those doors into that studio."

Laura also added that she was "completely hoodwinked" by the series, explaining: "That’s the point though, it’s a pantomime to the producers, to the people watching but I’m a person with feelings and never ever deserved any of that. I was told, 'Oh everyone will love you', it was all lies they knew how I was going to come across. I was completely hoodwinked.

"There was no support from the show after at all. I was chewed up and spat out and left to deal with the mess on my own."

Channel 5 declined to comment when asked by Digital Spy, and we have reached out for comment from Endemol Shine UK too.


We would encourage anyone who identifies with the topics raised in this article to reach out. Organisations who can offer support include Samaritans on 116 123 (www.samaritans.org), and Mind on 0300 123 3393 (www.mind.org.uk). Readers in the US are encouraged to contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 1-800-273-8255 or visit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.


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