Strictly runner-up Jamie Laing has revealed he was left with psychological issues after 10 years on Made In Chelsea.
A decade into the fame game and the great, great grandson of Sir Alexander Grant, who created McVitie’s digestives, feels the unrealistic expectations put on reality stars takes the erm, biscuit.
Jamie said: “I’m exactly as on Made In Chelsea, it was just more volumed up, hectic, always thinking of jokes….
“What I didn’t realise was you can separate yourself from that.
“If you don’t, the sense of reality and performance get blurred.
“I got confused every time I went into a room and had to be the funniest, loudest, most energetic person – that became a psychological issue.
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“That’s why I have anxiety, why I wasn’t leaving the house, why I wasn’t seeing friends.”
Having seen reality shows become more calculated Jamie is concerned where this could lead to.
He continued: “When something become successful you format it too much.
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“ Love Island, people catch on to it so they start making up words and catchphrases because they knew it was a big hit: ‘On paper’ and that kind of stuff.
“Then they realised a bromance worked, so we have to find someone who will make a bromance.
“What you want to do is keep it as natural as possible.
“This viral culture is really dangerous.
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“You get your viral hit then you’re continuously trying to recreate it.
“The quicker you go up, the faster it is to fall.”
After making the Strictly final with pro partner Karen Hauer, Jamie and dance expert Kaelynn ‘KK’ Harris are fronting upcoming BBC Three series I Like The Way You Move.
Jamie added: “You’ve got a bunch of professional sexy dancers in a house, a bunch of sexy non-dancers go in.
“The sexy dancers pick who they like the look of, team up and they learn how to dance for a week.
“We decide who has the least connection and they leave the house and more rookies come in.
“We start filming this month.
“I don’t know if it was a backhanded compliment but they went: ‘I think you should get a stylist’.
“Now I have this stylist who tells me to wear these things I put it on and you’re like: ‘Holy smoke’.
“I feel like David Gandy.”
- Jamie was speaking on Celebrity X factor runner’s-up Max & Harvey’s podcast. Their new single In My DNA is out now.
