Rylan Clark has reached out to former Big Brother contestant Rebekah Shelton after reports of her death, which made national news, was actually a result of her Twitter account being hacked. The reality star posted a video on Twitter confirming she was still alive, and admitted she had "been through hell", due to the false announcement. The former This Morning presenter, who had previously tweeted a tribute to the star, wrote: "Absolutely disgusted someone would do that. Glad you're well @MissRShelton." Rebekah appeared on Big Brother in 2009 as Rodrigo Lopes before transitioning in 2012, changing her name to Rebekah Shelton.
In her message, Rebekah said: "Hi everyone, I want to kindly ask that people stop spreading the news that I'm dead because obviously I'm not. I've been through hell today because someone used my Twitter account to write that stupid status about me. This person can't accept that I've overcome all of my problems and I'm living my life happy. I'm on holiday, I'm in Arabia, and I'm not dead."
Rylan tweeted his shock at the hoax
The 32-year-old also tweeted: "I'm not dead! Please stop spreading this news! My lawyer is already working on this and this person who wants to spoil my happiness is going to pay for it!" The original tweet, which has been deleted, read: "We're sorry to inform everyone of the sad news that our wonderful and lovely Rebekah died unexpectedly on Wednesday night. We ask that you respect the family's privacy at this time." Her fans were quick to respond to the news, with one writing: "It's absolutely disgraceful, there are some truly spiteful people out there," while another added: "I'm totally gobsmacked. @Rylan what kind of human being does anything like that. Horrifying."