Frankie Bridge opens up about online trolls in new documentary

The pop star is tackling the bullies head on in a documentary for Channel 5

frankie bridge bullies

by Cate Sutherland |
Published on

Frankie Bridge has been a victim of online bullying since hitting it big with The Saturdays. So her presenting gig on Channel 5’s Celeb Trolls: We’re Coming To Get You is great karma for the 27-year-old star.

Online hate crime has become so prolific, the Metropolitan Police are setting up a £1.7m "troll-hunting" unit to identify offenders and support victims from all walks of life.

frankie bridge bullies

Appearing on Lorraine earlier today, the pop beauty said: "When I first started my career there wasn’t any social media so I never had to deal with that.

"But since then I’ve had some really nasty comments, things about my weight or past relationships, you know, death threats. It just really frightened me really. I didn’t really tell anyone about it.

"Because it’s online, I just thought: ‘Oh what can you do about it?’ I think that’s the worst thing, it does make you feel quite lonely and that there’s nothing you can do about it."

frankie bridge bullies

A team of IT experts are helping Frankie track down the culprits in a show that features high profile victims of abuse including former X Factor singer Chris Maloney and James Bulger’s mum, Denise Fergus.

Frankie says the scariest thing about facing down the trolls is discovering they’re normal people who just act differently online.

She added: "When you go and meet these trolls, it’s become a faceless thing. People have become very brave, they’ve become very safe.

"It hurts just as much and it’s just as scary as if I say it to your face or if I say it online. I’d just want to know why. Unless you know that person really well, how can you hate someone so much?"

frankie bridge bullies

As a busy mother of two who’s constantly in the spotlight, Frankie has declined to appear on one of her favourite shows, I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here.

"You know what, it was the one other show that I would maybe do," she said.

"But now I've got the boys, I don't think I would because of 3 weeks not knowing how they are. Maybe a few years ago I would have done it but not now."

Frankie is lucky enough to have footballer husband, Wayne Bridge, holding down the fort. She’s previously said Wayne is an amazing, hands-on dad.

We wish Frankie all the best in her quest to stop senseless bullying. A spokesman for the Met said: "We encourage all victims of hate crime to report any incident to the police and will make every effort to hold offenders to account and bring them to justice."

Celeb Trolls: We're Coming to Get You premiers tomorrow at 10pm on Channel 5.

Have you ever been trolled? Tell us about your experience on Facebook and Twitter (@CloserOnline).

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