GEMMA Collins is seen in tears in her brave new documentary as she confronts her “painful’ self-harming past.
The 41-year-old will take an emotional look into her past to raise awareness of self-harm in her upcoming Channel 4 documentary, Gemma Collins: Self-Harm & Me.
Now in a new teaser for her upcoming one-off, viewers see the TV star admitting she never spoke about her self-harming battle because she “was scared”.
“I was getting overwhelming emotion and I couldn’t cope with it,” Gemma is heard saying. “It’s something that I’ve buried for 20 years”.
Speaking with her mother Joan in another scene, the former Towie star admits: “It’s not like a normal conversation you can have with someone.
“I never told anyone because it was shameful, I was scared. I wish I were brave enough to ask for the help.
“I could’ve saved myself a lot of pain.”
Gemma shared the candid trailer on her Instagram today and wrote alongside the clip: “I’m so proud of my new documentary Gemma Collins: Self Harm and Me coming to @channel4 next Wednesday 16th February at 9pm.
“I’m revealing a side of me I’ve previously kept very private. It has been hard and emotional to talk about, but it’s so important we open up about these things more and encourage others to get help if they need it.”
In July, we exclusively revealed that Gemma was teaming up with Channel 4 for a new documentary, Gemma Collins: Self-Harm & Me.
Supported by mental health charity Mind, we revealed how Gemma would speak to young people about their experiences of self-harm, as well as digging deep into her past to relive her own experiences.
An insider said: “Gemma and Channel 4 have worked closely together with Mind to make this new film that will come out later this year.
“The rates of self-harm have soared by 70 per cent in the past decade, with a third of 16 to 25 year old’s saying they have self-harmed at some point. Gemma wanted to do something to help raise awareness on the topic.
“She has never spoken before publicly about her experience of self-harming but believes by using her platform and speaking about how it affected her, she can ultimately help others.
“This is a side to Gemma rarely seen by anyone outside of her inner circle and is deeply personal.
“However she feels by speaking out and telling her story, she will help others to reach out and talk to someone before it’s too late.”
The film will see Gemma – who found fame on Towie – also speaking to experts who will explain how to spot signs someone is self-harming and will provide details of what support is out there for people struggling with their mental health.
