Brits are angry that a man's story about mental illness was cut from TV because of the royal engagement
When the news broke that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle had got engaged, the nation could scarcely contain its excitement. And, for much of the day, our television screens were plastered with shots and footage of the happy couple.
But, for one man who travelled from Edinburgh, Scotland, to London to talk about his depression and suicide attempt on TV, the day did not turn out to be as joyous. Brian Wilkie's scheduled appearance on ITV's This Morning was cut from the show to make way for the royal wedding news. And, many people have taken to Twitter to express their disappointment that this man's story wasn't heard.
Last week, Ellie Wilkie tweeted a photo of her and her dad Brian with some words about his experience of living with mental illness.
"This year began with my dad mentally suffering depression and suicide attempt. Today he ends the year starting his new career in becoming a recovery support worker," she wrote.
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"Words can't describe how proud we are," she added. "It's okay not to be okay."
Her tweet went viral, and led to them both being invited to appear on ITV's This Morning show to tell their story.
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But, due to the royal engagement news, their segment was cut from the show's schedule.
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"Due to breaking news our story was cut off live TV," Ellie wrote. "The royal wedding will go ahead however mental health issues will always remain. Until next time Dad."
Ellie's tweet gained a great deal of attention online, with many people stating their disappointment that the segment was cut.
Some felt that given the princes' extensive campaigning on mental health, the royals would have wanted the segment to go ahead.
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Many criticised This Morning for its decision to prioritise the engagement news.
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ITV did not immediately respond to Mashable's request for comment.
Topics Mental Health Celebrities
Rachel Thompson is the Features Editor at Mashable. Rachel's second non-fiction book The Love Fix: Reclaiming Intimacy in a Disconnected World is out now, published by Penguin Random House in Jan. 2025. The Love Fix explores why dating feels so hard right now, why we experience difficult emotions in the realm of love, and how we can change our dating culture for the better.
A leading sex and dating writer in the UK, Rachel has written for GQ, The Guardian, The Sunday Times Style, The Telegraph, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Stylist, ELLE, The i Paper, Refinery29, and many more.
Rachel's first book Rough: How Violence Has Found Its Way Into the Bedroom And What We Can Do About It, a non-fiction investigation into sexual violence was published by Penguin Random House in 2021.
