Fear of doctor meant TV star ignored symptoms of bowel condition for a decade

• Chloe Meadows, former star of The Only Way Is Essex, revealed she ignored ulcerative colitis symptoms for about 10 years due to fear of doctors.
• Meadows first noticed blood in her stool, a symptom of the chronic inflammatory bowel condition, at age 16 but delayed seeking medical advice.
• At 26, after experiencing significant blood loss and being urged by her mother, Meadows had health checks but initially avoided a colonoscopy due to fear.
• While filming, Meadows was advised to go to A&E due to low blood levels and later experienced her “longest flare-up” after a nerve-wracking scene on Towie.
• Marianne Radcliffe, chief executive of Crohn’s & Colitis UK, praised Meadows as an ambassador, noting that over 300,000 people in the UK live with colitis.