Katie Piper has been dealing with ‘nightmare’ eye issues while filming her new docu-series Jailhouse Mums over in the States.
Piper, 39, travelled across the pond to speak to women about what it’s like to be a mother while living in jail, exploring how the judicial system in various states handles inmates and their children - from newborns torn away from their parent and mums parenting teenagers via telephone.
“Over five compelling episodes Katie will join female prisoners who are not only negotiating a prison term but who are also parents and coming to terms with what that means for their children's future,” UKTV said.
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“Each prison has a different approach to women managing pregnancy and parenthood. Katie Piper's Jailhouse Mums explores the different ways women and their children are treated and how they cope with the heart-breaking prospect of having to give up their babies while they serve their time.”
Speaking to the Daily Mail about filming the new documentary, Piper - who was the victim of a sulphuric acid attack ordered by her ex-boyfriend in 2008 - said she ‘really struggled’ due to not having access to eye drops in America.
The Loose Women star had an operation earlier this year to fix a defect a in her left eye, but said the problem has ‘never stabilised’.
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“It's not great,” she said, adding: "I had this infection since February which has never really stabilised.”
Piper continued: “It was a nightmare throughout the filming of the prison show. I was really struggling and it was really hard to get eye drops into the prisons.
“It's just one of those things that has never been a stable injury for me. I think if you're going to have such a life-changing injury you're going to know and accept those things don't just heal and go away. It is the same for every burn survivor I have met at that level of severity of injury.”
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Piper also said she found it difficult being so far away from her two kids, nine-year-old Belle and five-year-old Penelope, and husband Richard.
“I started filming in January and only finished this month [June],” she went on.
“I went out to the US for two to three weeks at a time exploring motherhood behind bars.
“It was hard. It was the longest I have ever been away from my kids and not just that length of time but the lack of contact with the six hour time difference.
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“I was obviously not allowed my phone so I had to comply with the prison rules. It was a real strain. Wherever I felt guilty about that I just thought, ‘Come on Katie, you’re going to see your kids in three weeks, these women won't see their kids for 30 years.’”
Katie Piper's Jailhouse Mums is available to watch on UKTV's free-to-air entertainment channel W from today (21 June).
Topics: Celebrity, Health, TV And Film
Jess Hardiman