Latest news with #ArthurCollins
The Sun
13 hours ago
- The Sun
Shocking moment Ferne McCann's acid attacker ex Arthur Collins is filmed being INJECTED in bum with drugs in jail cell
TV star Ferne McCann's acid attacker ex is seen getting a suspected steroid injection in his cell. Video of Arthur Collins, 32, taken on a smuggled phone, came as he was linked to drug drops by drone at jails in Herts and Greater Manchester. 7 In the clip, Collins is asked, 'Hey, bruv, what are you doing?', by a fellow prisoner — before replying: 'Injecting.' The exchange was caught on our exclusive video, showing laughing Collins apparently receiving a jab in his buttock from another lag. He could face disciplinary action after the body-building drug was seemingly sneaked into the jail, along with a handset used to record footage in his cell. Collins was recently switched from The Mount Prison — where the footage was taken — amid fears he was plotting to import drugs using drones. And it comes after a jail anti-corruption team found illicit items at his new home — HMP Buckley Hall, near Rochdale. A source said: 'Collins has been in trouble constantly and doesn't seem to care. He goes around like he is the big 'I am' and as if he rules the roost.' His actions will sicken the 22 victims of his 2017 attack when he hurled acid across in an East London nightclub — leaving 16 people with serious burns. Collins, who described himself as a businessman and scaffolder is serving a 20-year term imposed at Wood Green crown court after he admitted GBH with intent and nine counts of ABH. He had eight months added to his sentence in 2018 for smuggling in a phone which he used to call Dancing on Ice star Ferne, 34. She had been pregnant with their daughter, now aged seven, when he was jailed. The injection video shows Collins leaning over while another con jabs him. Ferne McCann facing fresh backlash after new voicemail leaked about Arthur Collins' acid attack victim He is also holding hands with another inmate to help stop him recoiling in pain. One of the prisoners asks him: 'Hey, bruv, what are you doing?' Collins replies: 'Injecting.' A second short video features Collins — topless and in Nike tracksuit bottoms — flexing his muscles to show off the fruits of his fitness regime. One of his jail pals says to Collins: 'Show me. Do you think you're big?' Collins tenses his muscles and replies: 'Am I?' Both videos were shot at Category C prison The Mount, in Bovingdon, Herts. Our source said: 'Collins has been in trouble constantly and doesn't seem to care. 7 7 'He has been linked to drone deliveries and drugs at both the jails he has been at. 'These videos show him having the injections, which he was doing quite regularly, as well as being filmed on a phone. He should face disciplinary action over the videos, as they were shot in his cell on a smuggled handset. 'But he has now been moved — and already got into trouble at his new jail. 'They thought he was behind drone deliveries at The Mount, and he has been suspected of helping to bringing in and possession of steroids, spice and weed. 'He is constantly in bother and keeps having to move jails because of it. He is mixing with the wrong people and getting involved in all sorts inside. 'As these videos show, he spends a lot of time at the gym and is proud of his progress, although he was using steroids to help him. 'That is what he is doing in the video, and loads of steroids get smuggled into jails. He is a lot slimmer than he was and is proud of being quite shredded, and he is physically strong 'But it would be pretty sickening for any of his victims to see this. 'He seems cocky and like he is having a laugh with his mates inside, rather than being punished.' Prison bosses at 1,001-capacity The Mount investigated Collins over smuggled drugs but did not call in police. He was moved to Buckley Hall earlier this year. Sources said the switch was also partly to protect Collins, as the northern jail holds fewer people likely to be linked to his victims. They added he was hopeful of having his status lowered to Category D, which could clear him for a move to an open jail. Collins started dating former Towie star Ferne in 2016 but she dumped him after the acid attack. 7 She had visited him in jail and revealed she told him: 'This is the last time you will see either of us. You have ruined our lives.' Ferne was eliminated second from the most recent series of Dancing on Ice. She starred in ITV show My Family & Me with fiancé Lorri Haines, with whom she shares a two-year-old daughter. Her other TV credits include coming third in 2015's I'm A Celebrity. Tory MP Alec Shelbrooke said yesterday: 'The fact that mobile phones and drugs are readily available in jails shows a breakdown at the top of the prison system, which people need to get a grip on. 'We are seeing in prisons the failures of the government's pledges to crack down coming home to roost.' And Reform MP Lee Anderson said: 'It seems that many prisoners are committing crimes in jails with absolute impunity. 'These problems could easily be stopped. If a prisoner is caught with something like a smuggled phone or drugs they could be put in solitary for six months and have no visitors. 'If any drones are spotted on the grounds, lock down the prison for a week or two. But successive governments have turned a blind eye.' A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: 'The availability of drugs and other illicit items in prisons is yet more evidence of the crisis this Government inherited. We have an additional invested £10million on anti-drone measures to help us seize more contraband and have a specialist team to bear down on drugs and serious and organised crime. 'We have also created restricted fly zones around prisons, and are collaborating with police to tackle the growing illegal use of drones around prisons.' 7 7 Ferne tot shock for nightclub acid thug By Michael Hamilton TOWIE'S Ferne McCann told thug Arthur Collins she was having his child two weeks before he threw acid across a nightclub and then went on the run from police. The scaffolder, 32, was jailed for 20 years in 2017 for the attack in Mangle E8, Dalston, East London. He left 16 people with serious burns after getting into a row with a group of men. Collins was arrested in his underpants by armed officers a week later at a house in Higham Ferrers, Northants. Three women gave court evidence and Collins was convicted of five counts of GBH and nine of ABH. Ferne dumped Collins following the attack. In a statement, she said she would raise their child alone and she was 'focusing on being the best mother she can be'. Collins got eight months added to his sentence in 2018 for using a smuggled phone to call her from prison. Ferne is now engaged to entrepreneur Lorri Haines and they have a daughter. The lag also struck up a relationship with ex-glamour model Annie Bullah, who was seen visiting him in jail but they later called it off.
Daily Mail
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Ferne McCann reveals she experienced suicidal thoughts during depression battle that began while she was filming The Only Way Is Essex
Ferne McCann has revealed she had suicidal thoughts during the darkest periods of her depression - and claims her mental health battle began while filming The Only Way Is Essex. The reality star, 34, became a household name when she joined TOWIE in 2013 thanks to her larger-than-life personality and fiery on-screen showdowns. But behind the glamorous facade, Ferne says she was deeply unhappy - admitting she often cried after filming and felt overwhelmed by the demands of reality TV fame. 'I was depressed on that show,' she says. 'I was showing up as this real bitchy character, when that wasn't me. I don't like confrontation. 'I was pretending and getting amongst it to get the airtime because I wanted that fame... but I was so down. I would literally just cry.' Speaking live at a Trouble Club talk in North London on Wednesday night, she continued: 'It was savage. It was intense. It was really hard.' Ferne, who shares seven-year-old daughter Sunday with her ex, jailed acid attacker Arthur Collins, and 22-month-old daughter Finty with her fiancé Lorri Haines, sought help from the on-set mental health team - but was shocked when the suggested solution was medication, rather than stepping away from the show. 'I remember speaking to the team and the psych[iatrist] said, "Have you thought about antidepressants?" she recalled. 'Now, I'm not against them - there's a place for them - but for me, it was like, how is that the first thing?' She adds: 'There was a position called cast liaison and I was like, "These producers, there must have been a module," because I didn't go to university or anything like that. I was like, "there must have been a module where it was like the art of manipulation". 'Because I'd be like, "I'm not doing it. I'm ot going in that scene. I'm not saying that!" And they'd be like, "but you're so good at it." And they'd keep you in a room. It's not like that now on TOWIE.' Ferne left the show in 2016 after three tumultuous years, and later went on to appear in I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! where she won over the public by showing her true, softer side. But she admits the damage to her mental health had already been done - and it would take years of therapy to begin to heal. 'I've had seven years of therapy now,' she said. 'I found myself in a really dark place - very, very low and dealing with anxiety... and having suicidal thoughts at one stage in my life.' Ferne's experience on TOWIE also coincided with the explosive rise of Twitter, now X, meaning trolling and public judgement were inescapable. 'People had opinions on how I looked, how I spoke, how I behaved,' she said. 'It was like overnight success that I really struggled with' 'People had opinions on how I looked, how I spoke, how I behaved,' she said. 'It was like overnight success that I really struggled with. 'That was when trolling really started. That was when I started to struggle with my mental health.' Today, Ferne says she feels very different in her approach to life - calmer, more grounded, and determined to use her platform for good. 'I did have a breakdown, but I needed it,' she says. '[Therapy] was the best decision that I've ever ever ever made because now I feel like a changed person. I'm so different in the way I approach and handle tough times, good times. 'I've calmed and instead of reacting, I respond and I really take my time and I feel very grateful for going through those really dark moments to then go and meet with a therapist and now get to where I am today. I've been on a real healing journey. 'Healing isn't linear, and s***'s gonna happen, but I can't imagine my life without the really tough times because it's shaped who I am.' After stepping back from reality TV and ending her long-running ITVBe series First Time Mum last year after 13 seasons, Ferne is now focusing on helping others. WHAT IS DEPRESSION? While it is normal to feel down from time to time, people with depression may feel persistently unhappy for weeks or months on end. Depression can affect anyone at any age and is fairly common – approximately one in ten people are likely to experience it at some point in their life. Depression is a genuine health condition which people cannot just ignore or 'snap out of it'. Symptoms and effects vary, but can include constantly feeling upset or hopeless, or losing interest in things you used to enjoy. It can also cause physical symptoms such as problems sleeping, tiredness, having a low appetite or sex drive, and even feeling physical pain. In extreme cases it can lead to suicidal thoughts. Traumatic events can trigger it, and people with a family history may be more at risk. It is important to see a doctor if you think you or someone you know has depression, as it can be managed with lifestyle changes, therapy or medication. 'We're about to launch a podcast which I'm really excited about,' she said. 'I don't want to give away the name because that sort of spoils the launch, but it's based on mental health and what I've been through.' She added she now takes each day as it comes. 'Everyone asks me, am I going to have more kids? I am really looking forward to just focusing on my passions.' Her passions still include reality TV. 'I'd love to do Strictly - I'm such a fan of the show. We sit down and watch it as a family,' she admits. 'I love the Masked Singer as well. You could almost just hide behind this massive costume and just give a good old karaoke session.' As for her advice to others on their mental health journey, she says: 'Be true to who you are and surround yourself with people that genuinely care about you. 'Therapy has played a massive part in my mental health journey and meditation - sitting in stillness and prayer and just being able to connect with yourself. I think you find that through being with yourself.' If you are suffering from depression, call Samaritans free on 116 123.
