Ben Fogle reveals he tried to kill himself after his drink was spiked

Ben Fogle has revealed he attempted to kill himself when his drink was spiked during a night out in ‘a rural pub in the Cotswolds’ in 2013.

The presenter, 47, took to Instagram on Friday to detail the harrowing ordeal with his fans, and called it ‘one of the scariest experiences of [his] life.’

Warning others of the dangers of having one’s drink spiked, he also tried to combat the stigma faced by victims of similar incidents as he said the ‘Twitter pile on’ he was subjected to at the time made him feel further victimised.

‘It was one of the scariest experiences of my life’: Ben Fogle revealed on Friday he tried to kill himself after his drink was spiked with a psychotic drug on a night out in 2013

In a lengthy caption, he said: ‘Several years ago, in 2013 to be precise, my drink was spiked with an unknown substance that resulted in a psychotic episode that saw me hospitalised.

‘It was one of the scariest experiences of my life but the response was even more disappointing. 

‘The hospital lost my samples, someone leaked it to the press, there was a full Twitter pile on from vile trolls and the press generally sneered and doubted the story.’

Candid: Sharing a post via Instagram, Ben tried to combat the stigma faced by victims of drink spiking as he said the ‘Twitter pile on’ he was subjected to made him feel further victimised

Struggle: Talking about the dangers of drinks being spiked, he said: ‘The unknown drug caused a psychotic episode during which I tried to kill my self’

Then talking about the dangers of drinks being spiked, he went on: ‘The impact of drink spiking cannot be underestimated. 

‘The unknown drug caused a psychotic episode during which I tried to kill my self. I spent weeks undergoing psychological and medical testing to ensure it wasn’t self induced by illness. 

‘Multiple doctors concluded that it was indeed an external drug that had caused the psychosis and yet there was no recrimination, just suspicion as to why and how I had been spiked. 

Thoughts: Reflecting on victim blaming, Ben added: ‘It’s symbolic of societies general approach to spiking, that culpability and responsibly falls on the “spikee”, not the “spiker”‘

‘For me it’s symbolic of societies general approach to spiking, that culpability and responsibly falls on the “spikee”, not the “spiker”. 

‘I have been contacted by policemen, soldiers and students who all have the same story to tell.’

He concluded: ‘It can happen to anyone. Anywhere (mine was a rural pub in the Cotswolds). Anytime. It was a tough lesson. Love and peace.’ 

Fans took to the comments section to share words of support with Ben after he detailed his experience, with Davina McCall also commenting.

She wrote: ‘Thank you for sharing this . It’s terrible that more wasn’t done at the time to try a get to the bottom of who did this to you… scary to wonder who else they have done that too .. and the consequences…’

If you have been affected by this story, you can call Mind’s helpline on 0300 123 3393 or email info@mind.org.uk. 

Comment: Davina McCall shared her support for Ben after his post, saying: ‘It’s terrible that more wasn’t done at the time to try a get to the bottom of who did this to you’