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Made In Chelsea star Olivia Bentley praises show’s pastoral care as Love Island faces backlash following Mike Thalassitis death



Made in Chelsea star Olivia Bentley has praised the pastoral care provided by the show as Love Island faces a backlash following the death of Mike Thalassitis.

Thalassitis died on Saturday, two years after finiding fame on the ITV2 summer series. He was 26.

His death has raised questions over the level of support given to contestants after they leave reality TV shows in helping them to adjust to life in the spotlight. Similar concerns were raised after Sophie Gradon committed suicide last year

Bentley, who was cast into the limelight by Made in Chelsea, spoke out on Monday about her experience with pastoral care received from the E4 show, praising bosses for “always having somebody to talk to”.

Reality girl: Olivia Bentley stars in an E4 show (Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images)

“There’s always people that you can [talk to],” Bentley told Heart Breakfast. 

“I mean I’ve had ups and downs and I’ve always found that there’s someone there. It’s like a peculiar sort of family – which is amazing.”

Chelsea star: Olivia Bentley joined the show in 2016 (Channel 4)

She said that the show was very “hands on” when it came to dealing with the mental wellbeing of their stars and that she had “never felt alone” or like she didn’t have “anywhere to turn”.

In the days following Thalassitis’ death, Love Island stars criticised the show for not giving enough support to contestants

Dom Lever, who starred alongside Thalassitis, said: “You get a psychological evaluation before and after you go on the show but hands down once you are done on the show you don’t get any support unless you’re number one.”

Montana Brown speaks about the moment she found out Mike Thalassitis had died

Kady McDermott, who also appeared on the show, said: “Hopefully going forward reality shows will help more with the aftermath of being on one, because I can say it definitely didn’t happen after my series when lots of us needed it. 

“Peoples lives change over night and no one can mentally be prepared for it. The good and the bad.”

Montana Brown, who was on the same series as Thalassitis, broke down in tears as she discussed his passing and revealed he had texted her just days before.  

In a statement regarding recent events, ITV said “the programme will always provide ongoing support when needed and where appropriate”.

It finished: “We also discuss at length with all of our Islanders, before and after the show, how their lives might change and they have access to support and advice to help with this.”



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