CBeebies star Sarah-Jane Honeywell almost jumped in front of train after axe
Sarah-Hane Honeywell revealed she almost jumped in front of a train after she was axed from CBeebies for posing near-nude for charity.
In 2011, the 50-year-old presenter was understood to have been sacked as a host on the BBC Children's channel after appearing almost naked in a PETA campaign against eating meat. In the campaign, she posed topless while lying on top of a giant plate of fake food. In recent years, she alleged that her firing was related to the nude photoshoot, which she agreed to do as part of her passionate vegan activism.
The innocent snap 'outraged' people and the backlash was so strong that some people even accused her of being a bad influence on her two sons, Indiana, six, and eight-year-old Phoenix, who she shares with former Hollyoaks actor Ayden Callaghan. The star revealed the charity photo ruined her life and she felt like she 'let her husband, parents and everybody down'.
Speaking about her lowest point, she said she walked to a Liverpool train station. Sarah said: "I hadn’t thought I was going to kill or hurt myself, but it was like a compulsion. It was like, ‘I need to jump’. And then I remember my little boy kicking and that shocked me out of it.”
She posed almost naked in a PETA campaign against eating meat in 2011 (PA Archive/Press Association Images)"I just felt like my life was over," she added to The Sun. Sarah had an almost decade-long career on the BBC channel during the noughties - presenting Tikkabilla and Higgledy House as well as Tweenies and Friends Show.
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In 2021, she opened up about the impact the photoshoot had on her mental health. The star chatted with Scott Dalton on BBC Radio Lincolnshire about it and when she was asked about the pressure that children's TV presenters faced, she agreed with the assumption that they were "expected to be like a saint."
She also noted that dads would want photos with her but mums often "scowled" at her, describing the latter as giving her "not very kind attention." Sarah said she didn't believe her photoshoot would be controversial at the time. Before the PETA campaign, she posed for "a wet t-shirt" type shoot where she was seen pouring Diet Coke over herself while wearing a flimsy shirt.
Although the photo appeared in the press after the photographer shared it on the internet, she said she didn't hear a word about it from her colleagues at the BBC. Sarah continued: "In the meantime, PETA had asked me if I would do a picture for them because I'm a vegan."
*If you're struggling and need to talk, the Samaritans operate a free helpline open 24/7 on 116 123. Alternatively, you can email [email protected] or visit their site to find your local branch.
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