McFly’s Harry Judd has shed light on why his bandmate Danny Jones is terrified of snakes, tracing it back to a pet-related incident.
On ‘Binge!’, a podcast he co-hosts with Alex Jones, 38-year-old Harry revealed that both I’m A Celeb contestant Danny and fellow McFly member Dougie Poynter, 36, once owned pet snakes.
However, things took a turn when one of the reptiles bit Danny. “He had a snake pet, but then it bit him so he doesn’t like snakes no. Him and Doug got pet snakes and it bit him,” Harry explained.
This revelation comes after Danny faced a challenge on I’m A Celeb involving a room full of snakes, with one even crawling up his shorts.
Concurrently, Danny has been candid about his struggles with an anxiety disorder on the ITV show. He shared that he’s been in therapy since he was 19 and even experienced an anxiety attack during an interview on This Morning.
He confessed to his campmates: “I was freaking out and I couldn’t answer the question that got asked to me. And then it started happening in my work. I felt like a camera had gone above me and I had this white-out and I was going to puke. It was just, like, heart rate goes crazy.”, reports the Manchester Evening News.
Harry demonstrated support for his mate on social media after the latter’s confession, earning him plaudits from fans for backing his friend—one among numerous expressions of solidarity that Danny received.
Discussing the effect of Danny’s candidness about mental health issues, one individual commented on X: “Danny speaking so openly about being in therapy since he was 19 for panic attacks has to be the realest thing ever. The amount of people him just mentioning it is going to help is a massive thing let alone on such a public platform.”
Another remarked: “Danny Jones talking so openly about anxiety, so important for men to speak up about their mental health, it takes a lot of courage.”
Such commendation for Danny and other high-profile men who share their struggles starkly contrasts with findings indicating that mental health continues to be overlooked by men, as per a recent report.
Commissioned by Vitabiotics Wellman, a survey involving 1,000 men revealed that many still prioritise physical over mental health when assessing their overall wellbeing, according to the Daily Express.
On the heels of the study’s publication, a representative for Vitabiotics Wellman observed: “Many men are accustomed to pushing through physical and emotional challenges, and while strength is admirable, prioritising both body and mind is crucial. Mental health is as foundational to our well-being as physical fitness, impacting our resilience, relationships, and overall quality of life.”