Radio DJ Iain Lee kept suicidal man talking on air until ambulance arrived

Iain Lee kept a suicidal man talking on his radio show until help arrived.

The DJ received a call on his talkRadio show last night from a man named 'Chris' who said that he had taken an overdose. The caller told Lee that he had depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Lee kept the man on the line for 30 minutes, asking him questions about his whereabouts so emergency services could get to him. Prior to the call, Lee had tweeted about the difficulties involved in lowering his dosage of anti-depressants. He also commented that Christmas is a "tough time for a lot of people." During the distressing call, Lee told Chris that he loved him, and assured him that what he was feeling "can be sorted." "Chris, I love you brother, you deserve better than this," he said. "You deserve better than this, and whatever has happened, I promise you it can be sorted. I guarantee that whatever has happened, it can be sorted out. "It might not be easy, but it can be sorted, I promise you. It is better than you doing this." After half an hour, a police officer came on the line to say that they had found the man in a street in Plymouth. https://twitter.com/iainlee/status/1075666583865954304 The DJ, who appeared on last year's series of I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here, said later that he feared Chris had died at multiple points during the call. He tweeted:

"Long periods of silence where I thought he'd died. Fuck, that was intense and upsetting. Thanks for your kind words. I really hope he makes it. "We managed to keep him online, get a description of what he looked like and was wearing, work out where he was, and send an ambulance and police to him. Kept him on the phone for 30 minutes while he got harder to understand."

Lee has been praised enormously since the call by emergency services and the general public alike. Many called the presenter a hero and commended him for his compassion. https://twitter.com/PolComForum/status/1075871963271311360 The police officer who found Chris said that they would do their best to direct the man to long-term support. If you have been affected by any of the details of this story you can contact Samaritans on 116 123.