Emily Atack ‘had psychiatrist on standby’ in jungle after suffering panic attack

Emily Atack may have faced her fears and won over the viewers on her way to being second to Harry Redknapp in I’m A Celebrity but it could have been a very different story.

The 28-year-old actress, who starred in The Inbetweeners, was having a secret battle unbeknown to those at home and it could have derailed her whole jungle experience.

Throughout the three weeks on the ITV show, Emily was suffering from depression and had a panic attack shortly before heading to the Australian outbreak.


To give her reassurance while in camp, show producers ensured there was a psychiatrist on the site, who could speak to Emily at short notice.

Emily told The Sun that she had a panic attack, "just before I left for the jungle," and that it was "horrible" and "totally out of the blue."

Speaking about the moment, Emily said that she was "sweating" and "felt like I couldn’t breathe."


This led to her first couple of days in camp being a low point for her, as she was "pretty nervous" about what experiences she was going to have.

Having got through the whole three weeks and only be being beaten by Harry Redknapp to the jungle crown, Emily has hailed her time Down Under and said it had made her "feel like a different person."

It will come as no surprise that a lot of the mundane moments were not aired and it was these moments that Emily said the psychiatrist helped her through.

Speaking about her mental heath problems, Emily admitted that she has had therapy and "its nothing to be ashamed of."

She revealed that she has suffered since she was a teenager, with her parents divorce being a particularly hard time.

In times when she fell into the grips of depression, it was therapy that helped her through.

This is the first time that Emily has spoken out publicly about her wellbeing and she felt that, after being in the jungle, that she ‘wanted to be honest’ and admitted that she’s "had depression spells."

If you need to speak to someone, Samaritans are available 24/7 by calling 116 123 or by emailing [email protected]

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