Francis Boulle says production companies need to focus more on the mental health of its stars.
The ‘Made in Chelsea’ star says reality TV companies concentrate on making "great TV", but he thinks mental health should no longer be "secondary priority", which comes following the tragic death of former ‘Love Island’ star Mike Thalassitis, who was found dead in woodland near his Essex home earlier this month aged 26.
He told The Sun’s Bizarre TV column: "I think often the focus on the production companies is to make great TV.
"Sometimes people’s mental health is a secondary priority – and that means mental health, and vulnerable people, can be subordinate to the aims of production."
Francis’ comments come after former ‘Love Island’ star Alex Miller recently admitted he went "through a dark patch" after he appeared on the ITV2 show last year, in which he experienced suicidal thoughts.
He said: "I did go through a dark patch where I would look at bridges and think ‘Yeah, I could drive into that’.
"I was in a dark place [after the show]. It was winter time, there was a lot of factors coming up, knowing that everything was sort of coming to an end like getting back into the old routine in the job."
However, he was put back on the right track as one of the ‘Love Island’ producers spotted one of his social media rants and pointed him in the direction of a psychiatrist.
He recalled: "I had a little rant on Instagram. I went through a bit of a dark patch and luckily one of the producers who follow me on Instagram saw the rant got in touch with me and put me back in touch with a psychiatrist.
"Looking back, all I needed to do was be forward and go talk to them."
Francis Boulle says production companies need to focus on mental health
