AS a former superstar of Saturday night television and now a trained psychotherapist, Gladiators star Diane Youdale knows better than most the heavy burden that can come with fame.
The 52-year-old mental health professional has clients who have grappled with life after being thrust into the spotlight and nearly did a masters degree in authentic endeavour – the idea of having a recognised talent to back up stardom.
Diane Youdale trained as a psychotherapist after finding fame on Gladiators
Diane said it could take Jacques O’Neill a long time to get over his Love Island breakdown
Over the past two decades reality TV has removed the need for a genuine skill to find fame; these days a larger than life or relatable personality will suffice.
Fortunately the latest headline-grabbing reality star, Love Island’s Jacques O’Neill, has a promising professional rugby league career to fall back on after his three weeks in the villa ended on a worrying note last week.
The 23-year-old had been viewed as a villa villain after cheating on partner Paige Thorne with Casa Amor girl Cheyanne Kerr as well as facing accusations of gaslighting and aggressive behaviour.
But within days, viewers were full of sympathy towards him as he struggled to deal with his emotions culminating in a tearful exit from the villa at his own volition.
Diane, who was famously better known as Jet in the 90s, believes it could take significant time for him to fully recover from the experience, although there could be positives for him along the way, too.
She exclusively tells us: “What he will have now, post-production, for him, he will have the support he needs, thankfully. How he personally chooses to deal with… and if he chooses to read all the comments will be up to him.
“I learned very early on when I was famous 30 years ago, we didn’t have social media, thank the Lord, but even then I didn’t read my press. Unless you really want to, just don’t. It’s hard. It’s a discipline, some people are like ‘what are they saying about me?’
“If you compartmentalise and jog on with your life even better, but a good therapist would be able to help him with that, but it may take a long time for him to shake off; but he could make a lot of positives out of it.
“I’m sad to hear it because there’ll be more and more Jacques out there in the next few years because reality ain’t going anywhere, it’s too fascinating. It’s a goldfish bowl, isn’t it.”
Over the years Diane has changed her opinion towards reality TV and insists those who make it by baring their souls on the small screen have a certain courage and bravery.
“Not anyone can just go in front of a camera and act through three or four weeks of their life,” she says. “I’m saying that loosely because it is part reality and acting.
“Some of them have got very good at it, and some of them are just not made for it, and they won’t know it until they’ve been on camera and they’ve come off and go back home to their normalish life.
“I know a few reality stars and they say they’d rather have brought something to the camera that I call an authentic endeavour. I say to them the very bare essence of you, the courage that you’ve shown to go on camera , part acting, part being real, is incredibly brave and a unique skill in itself. I help them to do a re-frame. It is a hotbed, it’s for some people and it’s not for others.”
Diane has been working in partnership with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy to launch the new Therapy talks initiative which seeks to educate people on how effective counselling can be.
With the country in the grips of a mental health crisis that has seen nearly 70 per cent of the population experience an issue within the last five years, Diane believes the impact of therapy can be life-changing.
She says: “We don’t have to be in crisis to reach out. Just talk to somebody who is completely in confidence and away from our family and friends, because that’s not the place to start unpacking stuff that may be heavy and weighing on us in that moment because you get too much projection, too much interference, which can just add to the problem in the first place.
“Sometimes people can in just one session can open so many things it actually start a natural process of healing for them. You just don’t know until you actually get there.
“There’s no commitment. No therapist is going to hold you to anything because it’s a fit both ways. It’s got to be a comfortable space for someone to feel they can be just who they are in that moment with what’s going on for them without anything else, they need that neutrality, and there’s a fit for everybody out there.”
She adds: “Popular culture can give people the wrong impression about therapy and what you might expect from a therapy session, but Therapy talks helps to paint a clearer picture on what exactly therapy is and how great it can be for us. My time as a Gladiator sparked my intrigue into becoming a therapist so I am delighted to now lend my name to a campaign that aims to raise awareness about such an important topic.”
If you are interested in speaking to a therapist, you can find thousands of registered mental health professionals on the BACP directory which allows you to search by your issue, location and whether a therapist works in-person or online.
To watch the film and find out more, visit www.bacp.co.uk/therapytalks
Diane was Jet on Gladiators in the 90s
