I beat the bullies

Meet the girl who starred in this Beat Bullying ad, which was banned from TV for being too shocking.

BLISS reader, Chrissy, turned the tables on her school bullies when she found fame starring in an advert for Beat Bullying.

“'You’ve got more rolls than a bakery,’ taunted the boys. I was sick of being picked on because of my weight but I refused to let them get to me. After school everything would be OK, I’d have loads of friends and would be doing what I loved – acting and dancing.

“I used to be bigger than I am now and I got picked on because of it. There was lots of name-calling and I found secondary school quite uncomfortable and horrid at times. I was really into singing, acting and ballet, which were seen as odd things to do and gave the bullies something else to tease me about.

“The bullies were a group of boys who were slightly older than me and they would pick on me in the playground at lunchtime. Being called names like ‘Little Miss Blobby’ began to destroy my self-confidence. Looking back on it, I think the bullies were just bored and didn’t have anything else to do. It was my passion for dancing and acting that kept me going. Because of this, I was able to stand up for myself and tell the bullies I didn’t care what they thought. ‘I like ballet and it’s what I want to do,’ I retaliated when they laughed at me.

“My dedication to acting and dancing paid off when I won a place at the Italia Conti professional performing arts school. I attended for six years and recently graduated top in my class. I began going to auditions and that’s where I came across Cybermentors.

“Cybermentors were auditioning people to star I their new anti-bullying advert. I got the part and after hearing what it was all about, decided to become a cybermentor myself. I think it’s really helpful for people to be able to talk to someone in confidence if they’re being bullied.

“Making the ad was really fun, although it was difficult not being able to talk because I had some prosthetic lips were stuck on. When the director asked me questions, I had to write down the answer! I’d been to a fitting for the lips (which I stitch together in the ad), but I didn’t actually see them until day and they looked amazingly realistic. I’ve actually got them in a little box at home!

“I think ad’s a really good idea, even though it’s quite hard-hitting. Seeing me stitching up lips is tapping into a real issue. Metaphorically, that’s what people are doing when they suffer in silence. I hope if anyone’s being bullied, they watch the ad and realise that there is somewhere to go for help.

“I’m glad I didn’t let the bullies change my beliefs or put me off doing what I loved. It would be nice to think that maybe some of them will watch the ad and think, ‘Maybe I shouldn’t have done that.’”

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

Beatbullying’s advertising campaign is dedicated to Megan Gillan, whose life was cut short after facing continual bullying both online and in school on January 19th 2009.

If you are experiencing bullying please visit cybermentors.org.uk for support.

www.cybermentors.org.uk