When a Channel 4 casting director reached out to me and asked if I’d join them on their mission to show young people that it’s “cool” to go and get tested for STIs and help them spread the message of how easy it is to do, I couldn’t say no.
And before I knew it, I was spreading my legs as my knickers lay on the floor in front of three cameramen and the entire nation.
In 2018 the agent for The Sex Clinic reached out to me, we filmed the show in the summer and by February 2019 I was sat around the pub table with my mates as we watched me explicitly talk about my sexual antics, come out as bisexual and have a swab test.
On the day of filming, I turned up at London Bridge Hospital and was greeted by the Channel 4 team with open arms as they led me up to the rooms which they had hired out and made me feel as comfortable as possible from the get-go.
First up, I had to sign a form saying I was okay with my STI test results being broadcasted on national TV whether they were positive or negative. It was, after all, what I signed up for so it was no issue.
Sophie had to be okay with her results being broadcasted on national TV (Image: E4)
But then panic set in. And when I say it set in, I mean my entire world quite literally stopped in my head.
As I sat back after taking the last flick of my signature I remembered that I had romped while drunk two weeks before and couldn’t remember for the life of me if a condom had been used and now it was about to be broadcast to the UK if I had chlamydia, HIV, herpes, syphilis etc.
After my mini panic attack inside my head, I and the rest of the cast were taken into a waiting room set which gave me instant Big Brother vibes as there were no cameramen, just really small hidden cameras inside objects, like a dildo displayed on a shelf which we were advised not to touch – but did anyway.
The set was used throughout the entire day so they could get us to sit together and film us talking amongst ourselves about how we were feeling to get tested, to chit chat about our sex lives and be as open as we were comfortable to be.
Taking off your knickers in front of three cameramen and the entire nation is nerve-racking to say the least (Image: E4)
Within minutes we had all forgotten we were being filmed as we crudely talked about the raunchiest places we’ve had sex, our fetishes, turn-ons and delved into all of our sexual endeavours.
We all had mics in our ears so producers could tell us to change subject but not once did they interrupt the flow of a group of young misfits as one girl gave us a detailed account of the time she kept an anal bead in her anus for 24 hours and another went into great detail about how he has never washed his penis.
It really was quite the eye-opening experience.
While we got lost talking about sex, a sign above the clinic door suddenly flashed my name and I was commanded by the quiet voice in my ear to say goodbye to the cast and head into the room to get my STI test done.
Appearing on the show is quite an eye-opening experience (Image: The Sex Clinic)
The nerves hit then as I strolled up the corridor and knocked on the door exactly as I was told to do. It swung open to reveal registered nurse Sarah Mulindwa who quizzed me on my sexual health knowledge, informed me on bits I didn’t know and then explained in detail about the STI test she was going to carry out on me.
With three cameramen in the room (and Dr Mulindwa) I whipped the bottom half of my clothes off including my knickers and jumped onto the table as I struggled not to laugh because it felt like the worse start to a porno in the world.
After tripping on my knickers, nearly sliding off the table and opening my legs too soon, Dr Mulindwa carried out the test which included a swab from inside my vagina and taking a sample of my blood.
It’s hard not to laugh because it feels like the worst start to a porno (Image: E4)
I was then asked to return to the waiting room which felt like home by this point as I waited for my results. I watched as my co-stars came out one by one, arms waving as they grinned from ear-to-ear with their results – which were all negative.
Then came the moment that my name was called and I felt every hair stand up on my body. All I could think was, “My nan is going to watch me be told I have chlamydia”.
Thankfully, I got the all-clear and as the trolls commented on Twitter, my face really was a picture of shock.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
