A Big Brother star has revealed that they were "left for dead" after being involved in a frightening car accident.
Charley Uchea, who appeared on the reality show’s eighth series in 2007, shared on her social media that she was forced to cancel her 41st birthday celebrations in Hawaii after being involved in a car collision.
“To think we was flying to Hawaii for my bday and now I’m bed bound ‘cause I can’t walk or anything,” she wrote on her Instagram Story, adding: “Just in agony. Yes, I’m lucky to be alive, but this pain feels like I’m dying.”
The TV personality also posted a video that showed her lying down in a hospital bed, wearing a neck brace with visible cuts on her face.
As the accident left her too weak to use her arms, she thanked the nurse for brushing her hair out.
In addition to this, Uchea posted a photo of her smashed vehicle, writing: "Look at the damage this truck did just by hitting me, then leaves me [for] dead on the side of the road.”
The reality TV star appeared on Big Brother during the series won by Brian Belo. Known for frequent clashes with fellow housemate Chanelle Hayes, she made it to week eight before her eviction, which turned out to be a stunt.
Upon leaving the house, she was met with silence from the crowd, before host Davina McCall offered her the chance to return to the house after showing her which housemates nominated her.
During her time on the show, Uchea was subjected to a racist slur from fellow housemate Emily Parr, who was 19 at the time.
The incident happened in the early hours while they were chatting in the garden, with both Uchea and housemate Nicky Maxwell visibly shocked as Emily insisted the remark was “a joke".
Emily was later called to the diary room and removed from the house. At the time, Channel 4’s Head of Big Brother commissioning, Angela Jain, said: “In the wake of Celebrity Big Brother, we must consider the potential offence to viewers regardless of Emily’s intentions and her housemates’ response," per The Guardian.
"The word is clearly racially offensive, and there was no justification for its use. We have removed Emily from the house to once again make it clear to all housemates and the viewers at home that such behaviour won’t be tolerated," they added.
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When Big Brother was rebooted by ITV in 2023, Uchea made clear she had no interest in watching it.
“Please stop asking me if I’ve watched Big Brother. The answer is no,” she told her 251,000 followers, per Digital Spy. “Yes, I had a great experience from it and done well, but I don’t watch it, simple.”