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The Last Word With Matt Cooper

Love Island's Jonny Mitchell Raises Concerns About Mental Wellbeing In Reality TV

Former Love Island star Mike Thalassitis was tragically found dead in a north London park over the w...
Sarah Stacey
Sarah Stacey

6:05 PM - 19 Mar 2019



The Last Word With Matt Cooper

Love Island's Jonny Mitchell Raises Concerns About Mental Wellbeing In Reality TV

Sarah Stacey
Sarah Stacey

6:05 PM - 19 Mar 2019

Listen to this episode



Former Love Island star Mike Thalassitis was tragically found dead in a north London park over the weekend. He is believed to have taken his own life.

Thalassitis is the second Love Island contestant who has died in the last nine months.

Sophie Gradon died last June, aged 32. She had been suffering from mental health issues and is also believed to have taken her life.

Do reality TV shows need to provide better psychological aftercare for former contestants?

Jonny Mitchell appeared on Love Island in 2017 alongside Mike. He described his shock at his friend's sudden, unexpected passing and explained the emotional difficulties that contestants often experience in the aftermath of reality shows.

"The truth is we don't know what we're getting into."

"Overnight you're turned into a celebrity. Everyone wants to talk to you. Sometimes they want pictures with you, sometimes they want to throw insults at you."

"It's a completely out of body experience coming out into that kind of environment when you're totally unused to it."

Jo Hemmings is a behavioural psychologist who has previously assessed contestants for Big Brother and Celebrity Big Brother. She has her own concerns about the way contestants are treated by the producers of such shows.

"The welfare is not strong enough for contestants. There is rarely any aftercare in any TV production."

"It's the failure of expectations that really concerns me. They are effectively abandoned by production companies."

"It's bewildering and overwhelming, and it can be very hurtful. All of this builds up inside people and it literally creates a lonely, isolating feeling."

Love Island's Jonny Mitchell Raises Concerns About Mental Wellbeing In Reality TV

00:00:00 / 00:00:00


Read more about

Jonny Mitchell Love Island Mental Health Mike Thalassitis Reality TV

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