Samira Mighty says Love Island’s aftercare was "on tap", admitting the show helped when she had "so much anxiety".
The reality star has defended the ITV2 programme – which has been criticised following the deaths of two of its former contestants – and says the team were there for her after the series.
She said: "I had so much anxiety. I felt sick all the time. I got really skinny. I weren’t eating. I looked awful."
Speaking about the show’s aftercare, she said: "They were literally on tap. You could send them a message at 1am being like hey I’ll call you in the morning and I’ll be like fine."
Samira also admitted she would love to see more people of colour on ‘Love Island’.
Speaking on ‘Victoria Derbyshire’, she added: "When I was in there I know there was a lot outside about me being the only dark skinned girl.
"It didn’t really faze me much. I think it would be great to see more different races in there."
Samira’s comments come after Angela Jain, ITV Studios Entertainment managing director, insisted the company’s duty of care is "always first and foremost for Islanders", and admitted that while relationships will be "tested" on the series, ITV are "not a**eholes".
She said: "The level of scrutiny we’re under has changed, it’s entirely normal to keep evolving those aftercare procedures – that in no way is going to impact on our editorial.
"That in no way is going to make us make the show differently.
"Our duty of care is always first and foremost for the Islanders. We’re not a**eholes. We really do care about the show and we really care about those Islanders. [The lie detector] – that’s one episode of 57 episodes. It’s not even a big element."
Boxer Tyson Fury’s brother Tommy Fury, and ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ star AJ Pritchard’s brother Curtis Pritchard are among the contestants heading to the villa tonight (03.06.19).