Scarlett Moffatt turned to Samaritans after being 'consumed' by sadness over trolling

Watch: Scarlett Moffatt reached out to Samaritans after vicious trolling

Scarlett Moffatt has opened up on how she sought help from the Samaritans when sadness began to "consume" her following a deluge of online abuse.

The TV star found fame on Gogglebox and pursued other opportunities after leaving the programme, including participating in I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! in 2016 where she won the series.

“When I came out of the jungle I was on top of the world. I finally felt accepted," the 30-year-old told BBC Breakfast. “With all those positive things came a lot of negativity and before long it was just consuming me. This sadness was just consuming every part of my body.

Read more: Scarlett Moffatt says she gained weight on purpose after fitness DVD

“I would get a lot of trolling about the way that I looked, specifically about my weight, about being very slim. Then I got bigger and people didn’t like that.

“People saying ‘You should just go and kill yourself, I shouldn’t have to look at you on my TV’ and I just thought ‘I can’t do this anymore’.”

Moffatt, who is now an ambassador for Samaritans, told of how she used a fake name when ringing up the charity.

Speaking about her experience, she went on: “This is going to sound really dramatic but you do feel it is just like hope. That is what it sounded like, hope. Just hearing someone saying ‘Hello, Samaritans, what’s wrong?’

“I felt really sad, I spoke to Samaritans, I got help from my GP and now I am in such a good place with my little dog and my boyfriend and my friends and family.

“I just love life. I feel like I am the old Scarlett again, the 18-year-old Scarlett that was carefree. I feel like I am that girl again.”

Addressing the new ambassador role on Instagram, she described it as her "biggest achievement to date".

Moffatt has been candid about abuse she's experienced in the past, sharing in October 2019 that someone had written a letter in which they criticised her weight and posted it to her home.

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“I WILL NOT let bullies like this get me down," she shared at the time. "I just wish they’d left me a reply address and I would have sent them some local charity details and clubs near them so they could occupy there (sic) time as they seem to have so much of it by helping others.

"Let’s just be kind to people as we don’t know what’s going on in their lives.”

For confidential emotional support at times of distress, contact The Samaritans at any time by calling 116 123 or emailing jo@samaritans.org.

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