Fleur East spoke out about the dark side of reality shows ahead of being announced as the 12th celebrity to sign up for Strictly Come Dancing this year.
The singer, 34, shot to fame on The X Factor, revitalised her career on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of here! and is "still reaping the rewards" from her debut single Sax, but reckons people need to know the truth behind reality TV.
Speaking out in her The Reality of Reality TV, Fleur insisted she's grateful to the ITV show for giving her a break, but said more could be done to help the contestants behind the scenes.
"I think they’ve changed things over the years, but I know when I did it, I was never told of any kind of emotional support. I wasn’t made aware of it. It’s a very tense, intense process and you do need to be guided through it," she said.
"You’re on this amazing high but the minute you leave the competition, you come crashing back down," she said.
The Mirror has contacted ITV for comment.
Fleur's debut single reached number three in the Official Singles Chart, but the singer said her success was both a 'blessing and a curse'.
Explaining that she always felt she had to live up to the hype, the star said people need to know it's not easy when you leave a show like the X Factor.
Fleur also said she felt judged coming from a reality show and had to work "10 times harder" to prove she was as talented as her musical peers.
Despite her critique, the star did say a lot of good can come from reality TV, such as people going onto set up Foundations and raise awareness for important causes.
She also pointed out how much contestants' family members can be helped by their "amazing careers".
Fleur will soon be strutting her stuff on the Strictly stage, however one family member who sadly won't be able to watch her perform is her dad.
The singer broke down in tears on live TV today over the thought her father won't get to see her dance after he sadly died from a heart attack during lockdown.
Fleur recalled her dad being a huge Strictly fan, admitting that he used to be constantly checking his phone for updates on the show while he was watching her perform on The X Factor back in 2014.
"Dad was a Strictly fan," she explained, holding back the tears.
"I'm gutted that he can't see it... I wasn't expecting to get this emotional about it."
