Rylan Clark-Neal can empathise with reality TV stars who suffer mental health problems because he was "really hurt" by the "abuse" he was subjected to when he appeared on ‘The X Factor’.
Before he was one of the most in-demand presenters on TV, Rylan began his showbiz career when he came fifth on the 2012 series of Simon Cowell’s pop star search show.
Rylan had to deal with a lot of criticism over his voice and his over-the-top performances and the pain he felt means he will always be able to empathise with the ‘Love Island’ and ‘Big Brother’ contestants who have struggled to cope with the fame game.
In an interview with The Daily Telegraph newspaper, he said: "Of course I can see how it happens. At first the abuse I got on ‘X Factor’ really hurt me. It was no one’s fault, I’d put myself up for it, but it was rough. But a couple of weeks in, I realised my job was to play the gay stereotype and the second I joined the game everything was better because you’re in control of it and moving your piece around the board."
Rylan insists he altered his personality when he was on the ITV programme and embraced the camp persona producers wanted him to show on screen and hide away his true "laddish" nature.
The 30-year-old star – who is hosting the revamp of iconic game show ‘Supermarket Sweep’, originally fronted by the late Dale Winton – recognises that many people on these types of shows don’t realise the producers are creating a character for them and he finds that "frightening and worrying" because they aren’t prepared for the public’s reaction to them.
Rylan Clark-Neal was ‘really hurt’ by abuse from X Factor fans
