Celia Imrie was traumatised after undergoing electroconvulsive therapy to treat teenage anorexia: 'Women were assaulted in the name of health'

Celia Imrie has revealed she underwent electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) at the age of 14 to treat an eating disorder. 

The 74-year-old developed anorexia after she failed to get accepted at the Royal Ballet School and was subsequently admitted to St Thomas’ Hospital in Lambeth, where she received treatment from William Sargant.

Sargant's controversial methods included the use of ECT and antipsychotic and sedative drugs, with Imrie revealing in her autobiography that she was traumatised by watching other women being 'assaulted in the name of health'. 

ECT sends an electric current through the brain, causing a seizure, with the aim of relieving severe symptoms of some mental health problems.

Healthcare professionals have been divided about its use, with critics saying evidence supporting its use is poor, while its potential side effects including memory loss, sight problems and trauma can be debilitating.

Imrie also recalled the Sleep Room, where patients were forced into a drug-induced sleep for days on end while tapes played instructions to them. 

Her memories of her time in hospital are foggy, with Imrie telling Saga magazine: 'I don't know to this day whether I had a spell in The Sleep Room or not, but I was in that ward and I remember the smell of the room.

'The smell of sleep. I can't describe it. I mean, it was a horrible time. I do remember waking up one day and thinking: "I have to get myself out of here".'

Imrie says her cure was 'nothing to do with Sargant', rather that she was challenged by a nurse saying she was taking the bed of a 'really sick child'.

She said: 'That was the best thing she could have said to me. What she said was a trigger. No, I hate using that word. It was a firework.'

Imrie added in a chat with The Sunday Times Magazine that this childhood trauma, coupled with surviving two life-threatening pulmonary embolisms in the Noughties, have spurred her on. 

'I'm pretty determined,' Imrie mused. 'You get lots of biffs and boffs in the course of a career like this. My mother used to say you have to have the hide of a rhinoceros. 

'I mean, it took me about five auditions to be accepted at the Glasgow Citizens Theatre and I just kept coming back.'

However, she admits that she still 'has great difficulty with the word no'. 

Elsewhere in the chat, Imrie opened up about her time on Celebrity Traitors, with one of the most memorable moments on the series occurring when she accidentally broke wind during a challenge.  

Yet Imrie is keen to move on, as she explained: 'I am guilty of doing anything for a laugh but I didn't mean to fart. I was nervous. 

'I can't believe it became such a huge thing and I don't want to be defined by it.'

She also revealed that Richard E Grant had called asking her for advice before he filmed the show, with Imrie recalling she warned him that it's 'very strict and there is an element of cruelty about the game'. 

Imrie added: 'It's hard always being on, keeping the brain working, but I'm pleased I did it, especially because I have a whole new fan base, lots of younger people.' 

Yet despite Imrie's advice, Grant could be set for an early exit from the show after he made the biggest slip-up in show history when he accidentally openly admitted 'I'm a traitor' leaving his co-stars in shock and confusion.

He is now under suspicion from the Faithfuls, while his fellow Traitors Maya Jama and James Acaster look to have avoided detection so far. 

Yet fans will have to wait and see who the first star is to be banished after a 'ridiculous' cliffhanger ending on Friday night that saw the hit BBC show abruptly ended mid round table.

The tension rose between the celebrities at the first round table of the series as they debated whether Richard is faithful or not.

And just as the celebrities were going back and forth on Grant's innocence, Claudia announced: 'Players the time for talk is over,' and the second episode surprisingly ended.

Fans were left shocked by the 'massive cliffhanger' as viewers didn't even get the chance to see the stars write who they believe is a traitor on their chalkboards and will now have to wait six days for the next episode.

Elsewhere in the episode, former Today programme host Amol Rajan fell at the first hurdle when he became the first Faithful to be murdered. 

For help and support with eating disorders contact SEED on (01482) 718130 or visit www.seedeatingdisorders.org.uk