Bisexual radio host Iain Lee helps save the life of a suicidal caller live on air
Iain Lee spoke to a suicidal man live on air for a second time. (talkRADIO)
Iain Lee helped save the life of a man who called his radio show after taking an overdose.
The bisexual I’m A Celebrity star was live on talkRADIO when he received a call from a listener named Mark who said he was “having a hard time”.
“I don’t know I’m doing anymore,” the caller said, admitting that he had taken an overdose.
Lee asked Mark to give his producer his home address so that they could send an ambulance.
“We’ve got ourselves in a little pickle, but it’s a pickle that can be sorted out quite easily,” he told him.
After he had given them the information during an advert break, Lee praised the caller for doing “a really good thing”.
The world will not be a better place if you’re dead. It will be an ever so slightly darker place.
“I promise you that, because you’re a good man, and I don’t want you to die.”
After the show had aired, Lee gave an update on the caller’s condition.
“Just got off the phone to Mark,” he tweeted.
“He’s given me permission to say he’s OK. Thanks for the love you’ve sent him. I’ve told him to text me tomorrow.”
Iain Lee helped save a depressed man’s life in 2018.
The exchange marked the second time Iain Lee has helped save a person’s life while presenting his late nigh show.
In December 2018, he talked to a man for half an hour live on air after he called in and revealed he was attempting suicide.
The caller told Lee he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, and told him: “I do want to die, Iain.”
Lee managed to work out where the man was, allowing an ambulance and police car to locate him and take him to hospital for further treatment.
Radio host came out as bisexual while discussing his own mental health.
In recent years the host has developed a reputation for speaking frankly about his own mental health battles.
In July 2019 he came out as bisexual while discussing the therapy he had been receiving following his divorce from BBC journalist Helena Wilkinson
“I’ve been doing a lot of work with him trying to get through this sodding depression,” he said, noting that his sessions had helped him deal with the “great shame and embarrassment” he had felt about his sexuality.
“I’ve been reminded of a lot of stuff that kind of started when I was about 14 or 15 years old, and would involve me basically engaged in sexual acts with significantly older men,” Lee said.
“Now, I can see that it was abuse,” he said, adding that his therapist had “helped me realise that I’m probably bisexual”.
He later revealed that some family members cut him off after his announcement, but said that he felt a “weight lifted”.
If you’re going through a tough time, you can contact the Samaritans for free on 116 123 from any phone to talk to a real person, or email [email protected] to get a response within 24 hours.
