Ex-housemate: "'BB' made my life hell"

Big Brother 6 housemate Lesley Sanderson has told how losing the game drove her to depression.

Lesley, who wants to warn contestants not to take their result too seriously, recalled her early enthusiasm at being on the show.

"I have to admit my head was turned when I saw an advert inviting applications for Big Brother," she told the Daily Mail. "I'd grown up on a diet of reality TV shows and it just seemed too good an opportunity to miss. As far as I was concerned, it was a guaranteed ticket to fame and a fabulous life."

But when she was voted out on the second eviction ? coming 15th out of 16 ? Sanderson was overwhelmed by feelings of rejection. She revealed: "It's hard to describe what it feels like to experience hatred like that, especially when you have been shielded from the public's reaction for three weeks.

"For me, it was like being crushed, and I struggled to keep a smile on my face. All I could think, as I walked with her to the studio, was that the public hated me."

The former dance student spiralled downwards from their, the show having sparked a bout of depression.

"Earlier this year, it got so bad that I attempted suicide," she continued. "Using the handle of my hairbrush, I crushed a whole bottle of paracetamol tablets into a potentially lethal powder. I had every intention of swallowing it, but my mother came in and found me lying on my bed, sobbing.

"If I'm honest, I feel that same lurching realisation in the pit of my stomach now whenever I walk out of my house. For me, appearing on Big Brother has resulted in nothing but cruel words, vicious criticism and heartache.

"Do I feel like a victim? Yes. I know I have to take some of the blame for queuing up that frosty morning in February last year. But back then, I had dreams of becoming famous. How naive I was."