From SUN. Did anyone else read this?

The Sun Article


TELLY hit The Apprentice was slammed last night for letting a vulnerable former mental health patient become a contestant.

Jadine Johnson, 27, has been cleared to compete in the reality series — where contenders battle for a £100,000-a-year job with tycoon Sir Alan Sugar.

Yet she was sectioned under the Mental Health Act four years ago.

Last night charities blasted the BBC for using fragile people for entertainment.

TV bosses have already been rapped for similar tactics during last year’s Big Brother .
Single mum Jadine was taken from her daughter and ex-boyfriend after spiralling into serious depression. She spent some time at Northwick Park Hospital in Harrow, North London, and a private hospital.

A friend said: “She was in a really dark place — she had a nasty experience at work that just tipped her over the edge. She went to see a doctor and he signed her off on the spot.”

Now friends fear she will struggle to cope on the show, dubbed the “job interview from hell”.

The Apprentice — famous for business mogul Sir Alan’s catchphrase “You’re fired” — is renowned for its backbiting and bitchiness, with rivals sometimes reduced to tears.

One pal said: “We’re worried for her.”

Mental health charities last night also expressed concern. A MIND spokeswoman said: “We would want to ensure that proper psychiatric assessments are carried out on the show.”

But a spokesman for the BBC1 show was adamant that all the contestants had been properly screened.

She said: “As a part of the selection process all candidates are seen by an independent qualified psychologist to assess their suitability for participating in the programme.”

Jadine will be one of 16 contestants when the show kicks off on BBC1 tomorrow night.
Last edited by puzz : 20-04-2007 at 13:30

Who wants to tell The Sun about Stephen Fry ... ?

G

Why do people (such as The Sun) assume that if someone is sectioned they are some kind of mentally unstable psychopath who can't cope with being outside a padded cell?

Absolutely. This type of article just makes me so angry. No wonder so much 'mental health' difficulties are not dealt with in the early stages (ie: post natal depression) due to the stigma. Seems admitting you have drug or alcohol problems & going into rehab is fine for media & career but having an episoide this this scars you for life.

MB

And who's Jandice anyway?

G

Very well said MB!

i read it before the series began!!

Another non-story from the run away Sun.

What do they bloody expect? You would have thought she had been in the slammer for doing wrong.

Misspelling of Jarndyce, perhaps?

Mental or not her behaviour reminds me of Jade Goody, aggressive, loudmouthed, & constantly talking over people..very much "in your face" type of character.

Does no-one at the Sun realise the entire series has already been filmed?

she took SAs advice and kept a low profile in the 4th episode and whther you like it or not Jadine will get far in The Apprentice

1 in 4 of us will suffer some form of mental illness in our lives - articles like this make me really angry

this is the same newspaper that ran the headline 'Bonkers Bruno' when he was sectioned and then had to withdraw it because of the outcry

I'm sick and tired of people assuming everyone with a mental illness is a gibbering wreck - I know two Chief Executives who have had a spell in a psychiatric institutions and are perfectly capable of doing their jobs very well!

Well, she seems to be OK now, so She can do what she wants! Anyway why shouldn't she be allowed to when she has obviously recovered. If I had a mental health problem when I was 10, would I not be able to go for an interview when I was 50?
Last edited by nickynoodle167 : 20-04-2007 at 17:16

I agree with the fm's about the stupidity of articles like that.

But try looking at it this way: Jadine can be an advert and another rolemodel in the acceptance for mental health problems.

Yes, she had problems - like many of us - dealt with them and now she's one of thousands to be selected to compete in a high-profile show.

Good post.

I am afraid the Sun does have a rather antiquated view on mental health, not far removed from the days of Bedlam

What's Jarndyce?



I couldn't agree more. She just comes across as a thoroughly unpleasant individual and this just looks like a cleverly-veiled plea for the sympathy vote to me.

I wouldn't rope Jade in with her though. I am so glad the subtle goading and clever editing that went on during CBB is gradually coming out, and good old Shilpa is showing her true colours (sorry, is saying that she's showing her "true colours" racist? )
Last edited by sHAYneWARD : 25-04-2007 at 14:18

The most well known example/s

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jarndyce_v_Jarndyce

G

Thanks. I'd forgotten that (shameful, my old English Literature teacher would have hanged, drawn and quartered ).

When I saw the thread heading, it just made me think of jaundice

If she had of wanted sympathy over mental health issues I hardly think the Sun is the place to get that.

And give over with the 'good old shilpa' routine. She's hardly miss innocent herself. Save it for the obsessives on the BB forum.

It's a name - the surname of a character in Dickens's novel 'Bleak House'.

Aaaaaaaggghh! I didn't see that someone else had already answered.

Made me think of jaundice too. Don't know what the OP intended by it, though. Was it just an unintentional misspelling of her name or was it deliberate?

*Sigh*. One in four people will be a "mental health patient". Yet, there is still this hysteria over it. Change the headline to Jadine Was Broken Leg Patient and it's not quite so exciting, yet both are as every day as each other.

My point exactly. It was a sarcastic comment. I never fell for her routine, the clever spin of her PR and the editing of CBB, and I think it's very sad that so many others did, to the (albeit fleeting) promotion of her career and image and the detriment of others. I had heard of her before CBB and I can't stand the woman.

Ooops, my apologies. I have just re-read your post