A former finalist has suffered a serious injury (Image: ITV / Thames / Syco)
A former finalist of , magician Damien O’Brien, has suffered a serious injury that could result in permanent vision loss.
Damien, who reached the finals of the show in 2020, recently shared on social media that he was spending New Year’s in the emergency room.
Four years after his notable appearance on the show, which was won by Jon Courtenay, he took to to update his followers.
Speaking to Metro, Damien revealed he sustained the injury after some steroid cream accidentally got into his eye on Thursday.
After applying the cream, which was prescribed by a GP, and realising something was wrong, Damien was rushed to hospital where he was given the diagnosis.
He penned: “Thank you everyone for the messages. So last night I managed to burn about 60-70% off a layer of my cornea. I’m ok but in a lot of pain. Likely to have some permanent vision damage.”
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Damien appeared on BGT back in 2020 (Image: GETTY)
He added: “Again, thank you for all the well wishes,” before concluding with a red heart emoji. The details surrounding the incident that led to his injury remain unclear.
Fans of BGT will recall O’Brien as a finalist who secured sixth place in 2020. During his stint on the show, he courageously opened up about his mental health struggles.
In a candid chat with The Mirror, he revealed how he “struggled” on stage. He said: “People might have seen me up there on stage looking confident. But behind the act has been a long, hard struggle.”, reports .
He continued: “I was close to ending my life but was able to get help. I’ve hit my lowest but now I’m working hard to make my dreams come true.”
He went on to thank the staff at Moorfields Eye Hospital who helped treat him, saying: “My doctor really listened. He said I could call him any time of the day, promised he’d make time for me to see him whenever I needed to, and said I shouldn’t feel alone.”
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He impressed the judges and placed sixth that year (Image: ITV)
He concluded: “Such care was just what I needed. I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety and referred for therapy, and the counselling really helped.”
Speaking to Metro he also revealed he’d initially planned to audition for the show in 2018 but had to pull out a few weeks before due to “suffering very badly with depression and mental health”.
“I had to go get help for myself and I was glad to have my family and friends around me and I got the help I needed.”
The judging panel is thought to be staying the same as , with , , and returning to cast their judgement over the new performers in February.
There is also a guest judge heading for the show, as renowned music artist, YouTuber and boxer, KSI fills in for Bruno on three audition days.