One of Ant Middleton’s TV recruits was sexually abused by convicted paedophile football coach Barry Bennell.
The 41-year-old fitness boss called Jamie can currently be seen on Channel 4’s SAS: Who Dares Wins.
Although now a businessman in Staffs, he wanted to be a soccer player when he was younger.
But at the age of 11, he was secretly preyed upon by his local club’s evil coach Bennell for two years.
Jamie said: “I left school and played football for five years. I played for Stoke City but unfortunately, I never broke into the first team.
“You can blame all you want different things that happen along that path but my mind was too full of other things.
“When I was 11-ish I was a pretty good footballer and I was getting a lot of interest and I ended up playing for a local team and they had a particularly good coach.
(Image: Jamie Cartwright)
“Unfortunately, the coach turned out to be a prolific paedophile and for two-ish plus years I was a victim of that.
“And so I denied it due to the embarrassment and I did that for 25 years and it just f****d me up really.”
Jamie finally did speak up when another victim – Bury and Sheffield footballer Andy Woodward – came forward to publicly reveal how he had been abused by Bennell.
The pair were soon in contact with one another and he claims it has really helped him move on.
He has since received counselling about his abuse funded by the Football Association.
(Image: Handout)
Bennell – dubbed “the devil incarnate” – ended up being jailed for 31 years in 2018 for 50 counts of child sex abuse.
Jamie added: “Another victim went to the national press and we had the same abuser and so I tweeted him and I said ‘Mate good on you for being brave’.
“He remembered me and I had a ten minute conversation and that’s the first time I have spoken to anybody who understands it.
“And that allowed me to think that if he has got the strength to go on national TV I had to stand next to him and do it with the best of the boys that came out so I did.
“It’s the best thing that I ever did. I felt once I’d said it once I wanted to stand on the top of a mountain and shout about it.”
(Image: Jamie Cartwright)
Tearful Jamie opened up to hardman Ant Middleton about his abuse by Bennell while filming the Channel 4 show.
The chief instructor saluted his courage and said: “It’s short of amazing. I don’t see a victim. I see someone that’s extremely brave and keen.
“What you have done is courage. Being honest with yourself frees you as an individual. That’s how we f***ing defeat them with success. This will be your turning point.”
Jamie adds: “I have got to carry the last 25 years with me and there are days I wake up and it’s a challenge. It engrains itself in everything.
“I just wish I’d had strength of character to have raised my hand and been the one that got him arrested because someone else had that strength and did it and saved the rest of us.”
SAS: Who Dares Wins airs Sundays on Channel 4.
If you or somebody you know has been affected by this story, contact Victim Support for free, confidential advice on 0845 30 30 900 or visit their website, www.victimsupport.org.uk.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
