Showbiz legend told me to name her in my suicide note so she was praised as supportive, says super-agent Melanie Blake
AGENT to the stars Melanie Blake has revealed a nightmare actress told her to write a suicide note thanking them for their support – after she revealed her struggle with mental health.
Melanie said she didn’t feel suicidal at the time, but was severely struggling and in a dark place having had an emotional breakdown when a celeb she was looking after made the sickening request.
While some of her famous clients were quick to offer their unending support, Melanie was left horrified when one TV favourite coldly requested she mentioned her in her suicide note for publicity if she did decide to take her own life.
Melanie has opened up about the experience in her Notebook column, where she shared: “There are a lot of friendly faces you see on TV who really are stone cold b*****s.
“Some celebs are so ruthless they’d actually want you dead if it mean they could milk some headlines for themselves out of it.”
She went on to explain that she sadly knew this “extreme statement” to be true because she’d experienced it first-hand.
Melanie revealed that she’d just got off the phone to Coleen Nolan, who’d offered her loving words of kindness and support, when the unnamed celeb rang.
And while Coleen had urged her pal to call her any time day or night if she needed to speak to somebody, this famous face had a rather different approach.
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You're Not Alone
EVERY 90 minutes in the UK a life is lost to suicide.
It doesn’t discriminate, touching the lives of people in every corner of society – from the homeless and unemployed to builders and doctors, reality stars and footballers.
It’s the biggest killer of people under the age of 35, more deadly than cancer and car crashes.
And men are three times more likely to take their own life than women.
Yet it’s rarely spoken of, a taboo that threatens to continue its deadly rampage unless we all stop and take notice, now.
That is why The Sun launched the You’re Not Alone campaign.
The aim is that by sharing practical advice, raising awareness and breaking down the barriers people face when talking about their mental health, we can all do our bit to help save lives.
Let’s all vow to ask for help when we need it, and listen out for others… You’re Not Alone.
If you, or anyone you know, needs help dealing with mental health problems, the following organisations provide support:
- CALM, www.thecalmzone.net, 0800 585 858
- Heads Together, www.headstogether.org.uk
- Mind, www.mind.org.uk, 0300 123 3393
- Papyrus, www.papyrus-uk.org, 0800 068 41 41
- Samaritans, www.samaritans.org, 116 123
- Movember, www.uk.movember.com
- Anxiety UK www.anxietyuk.org.uk, 03444 775 774 Monday-Friday 9.30am-10pm, Saturday/Sunday 10am-8pm
Melanie wrote: “‘I’ve heard you are in a really bad place’ she started, her familiar warm tone sounding like she was about to give me a similarly loving, Coleen-like pep talk.
“‘Sometimes, when people hit rock bottom they consider ending their lives’, she continued, ‘so I want you to make me a promise’.”
Melanie expected the client to ask her to agree to call her if she ever felt that low, and was stunned by the next words that came out of her mouth.
She claims that they said: “I want you to promise that if you decide to end it, which no-one would judge you for, make sure you leave a really nice note addressed to me so that people find it, saying how supportive I was.”
Melanie went on: “You read that right, this showbiz hag actually wanted me to kill myself so that she could cry about it on screen to boost her profile.”
However, the agent refused to name who the mystery star was, instead teasing that she is a “friendly, girl-next-door type”.
Melanie warned that one day she might speak out, telling readers to “see if they can spot the evil behind the smiling face”, also adding: “Karma has a long memory, as do I.”
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