I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! star Dean McCullough said the abuse came out of nowhere after he appeared on the ITV show last year
Police are investigating death threats aimed at I’m A Celebrity star Dean McCullough.
The Radio 1 presenter has been inundated with terrifying messages from online trolls since his appearance on the ITV show, leaving him fearing for his safety.
Speaking to the Daily Star Sunday, 33-year-old Dean revealed: “When I came out of the jungle, I started getting so many death threats. People tell me they wish I’d got AIDS and died or that if they see me in the street they’re going to batter me.
“People were saying they were to come to my work at the BBC and my house. It hurt. It was really heavy stuff.”
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A panicked Dean reported the threats to Greater Manchester Police, who have now launched an investigation and sought assistance from other forces.
Dean explained: “The police came to my house and took a statement and now the details have been passed to police forces across the UK. They are investigating. They’ve already managed to identify some of the people who sent me death threats.
“There are 35 different accounts that were classed as having malicious contact and 12 of them were aggravated malicious contact, which is basically a death threat. They’re being identified.”
The abuse has left Dean feeling devastated. He confessed: “I had an absolute ball when I was in the jungle, so to come out and have all of that joy taken away from me was such a shame. I was really shocked. I couldn’t believe people would write those things.
“When you’re feeling vulnerable and you get a nasty comment, it can really knock you for six. I had to hide for a bit. I spent a few months under my duvet. It was such a struggle to get up.
“These people got annoyed by me living my best life on a TV show. It’s such a shame that they send me abuse.”
Defiant Dean is now determined to have the last laugh. The star continues to present his weekday afternoon show on Radio 1 and on Saturday, he performed a DJ set at Manchester Pride.
He declared: “I’m not going anywhere. I’m not going to change. I’m not going to dim my light just to please the trolls who say they want me to kill myself. I am going to continue being out and proud in my day to day life.”
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