Jack Maynard has said that opting to take part in Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins was a “huge decision” because of his anxiety, but the programme has helped to make him happier than he has ever been.
The YouTuber, 23, who appears in the Channel 4 series, said that “coming back to TV after previous experiences made it even harder”.
In 2017 he was pulled from I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! after just three days after posts he had previously made on social media were uncovered by a newspaper while he was in the jungle.
He later apologised for saying some “pretty disgusting things” after it emerged that he sent racist and homophobic tweets and also asked a 14-year-old fan on Facebook to send him nude pictures.
On Monday, he wrote that he had been in “a very low place mentally” around the time of filming Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins.
He added: “I knew the best way to help my anxieties and worries was to take them head on and really see how far I could push myself.
“Around the time of filming I was experiencing the worst anxiety I’ve ever had.”
He added that he was not able to work, was experiencing panic attacks and was seeing a therapist.
However he said that taking part in the programme was “one of the best decisions” he has ever made and he is now “happier than I’ve ever been”.
He added: “I was constantly tested to push myself further than I have ever been, physically but most importantly mentally!
“Having been put through such immense pressure, thrown out of your comfort zone (literally) and broken into a million pieces, I realised how much further I can push myself than I had ever imagined!”
Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins airs on Channel 4 on Monday at 9pm.