Celebs Go Dating expert Anna Williamson defended Helen Flanagan as she faced a backlash from fans of the show over her secret boyfriend bombshell.
This week has been rollercoaster for the Coronation Street star on Celebs Go Dating. First, Flanagan broke down in tears over the truth behind her “throuple”, saying she was in love with boxer David Haye. Then, Celebs Go Dating viewers accused Flanagan of seeking “publicity” when explosive scenes aired showing the actor telling fuming the dating experts that she had been dating former footballer Robbie Talbot off-screen.
Williamson –who is on the Celebs Go Dating panel alongside Paul Carrick Brunson and Tara Suwinyattichaiporn – has spoken out in defence of the star in an exclusive interview with Yahoo.
She told Yahoo: “The revelation with Helen, none of that was staged. None of that was staged by her or staged by production. The minute the revelation came out, it was an enormous shock. All the time as you’ve seen in series, people get together when they shouldn’t have done. We just go with the flow.”
The Celebs Go Dating expert called the moment one of the “biggest shocks”. She added: “To be really clear, none of us knew about her situation until it came out and that is the god’s honest truth. It was one of the biggest shocks of the series!”
With 25 years of experience on television, she said there are often a lot of “unpredictable” moments and TV stars have to be able to adapt to the “moving parts”. She said: “We think on our feet and and this series is no different but I want to make it really clear because I have seen some of the headlines. We don’t set the scenes up and the storylines before we start filming. What you see on the telly is literally what is happening in real life and we just react to it.”
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Celebs Go Dating isn’t staged
Speaking out in defence of the show, Williamson said: “The show isn’t staged.” The love guru lifted the lid on behind the scenes of Celebs Go Dating saying that dates have to be organised in advance and they have to get permission to film in the restaurants but that is it.
She said: “The show isn’t staged in any way other than obviously, we have to set up dates. So we have to obviously contact a restaurant and say, ‘Hello, can we film in your restaurant?’ You can’t just turn up with a casual cameraman. And they’re staged in the sense that we have to set up a date for it to actually happen but none of the content is staged and I think that’s really important.”
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Helen Flanagan shocks with secret boyfriend bombshell
The surprising moment Flanagan told the dating experts she was in a long-term relationship already aired on Tuesday. She told the dating experts: “This is just really difficult because I feel like, I really have given the agency my heart and soul.”
She added: “I’m a very, very honest person, but I did meet someone at home at the beginning of the year. I really wanted to join the agency because I kind of felt like, obviously I was in a really long-term relationship, not much dating experience, and I really wanted to do this for me. For me to grow, to find out more about myself. But it’s really hard because there’s somebody at home that I have fallen for.”
Despite being in a relationship behind the scenes, viewers watched Flanagan kiss one of her dates on Celebs Go Dating.
Read more: Helen Flanagan’s new man? (Bang Showbiz, 2-min read)
Social media was awash with stars furious about the development on-screen. Among the comments, one wrote: “Helen only joined to appear on the telly , what a time waster, you join a dating show looking for a date and you already have a boyfriend, why join in the first place #CelebsGoDating.”
Someone else said: “Ahh Helen, I really liked you but you’ve clearly just been after some exposure and publicity. What a waste of time.”
Another added: “Wasn’t Helen kissing her date like last week? But she has a boyfriend?”
