A star of the Netflix TV show Heartstopper has revealed how his autism posed a constant challenge as a contestant in the latest series of ITV’s Celebrity Big Brother.
Bradley Riches told the BBC’s Access All podcast: “The kitchen was white – the white lights were absolutely disgusting.”
Riches, whose autism shows up through sensory sensitivities, disclosed that his fear that the bright lights might trigger a sensory overload led him to spend a lot of his time either outside, or in the bathroom with fellow housemate David Potts.
He said: “Luckily the lights weren’t as bad in the bathroom. It felt more comfortable and less distressing there.”
Riches also revealed that the first autism-related challenge he had to face came before he had even entered the house and was greeted by cheering crowds outside.
He said: “I had my earplugs in, which was very helpful. It allowed me to be more present because I wanted to absorb all of it, but also I didn’t want to be so overwhelmed that I just shut down and had a breakdown.”
A coping strategy which he developed to tackle his shooting schedule on productions such as 1917 and Saltburn helped him deal with the lack of routine in the house and reduce the risk of feelings of anxiety triggered by a sense that the world feels chaotic.
He said: “I used to structure my schedule daily. For filming I have to structure my routine weekly.
“I got my brain around it quite easily. I blocked off three weeks, and that was my routine and I expected the unexpected. Once I was in that routine, I felt very comfortable and very open with everyone, I was on a roll.”
Riches told how he began to feel comfortable enough to let his housemates see him stimming, which is self-stimulatory behaviour like making noises or repetitive body movements, for example with a hand or a finger.
Riches added that he feels that he has helped other autistic people by allowing the cameras to show him stimming: “I just felt so accepted, and I was like, if I want to stim I’m going to stim and not feel ashamed of it.”
