Britain’s Got Talent fans were delighted when KSI made his debut as a judge on the talent competition during last month’s launch show.
The 31-year-old YouTube sensation and professional boxer proved to be a hit with ITV viewers with a massive 5.5million people tuning in.
Before this, the star, born Olajide Olatunji, gained fame with The Sidemen and expanded into music with chart-topping albums like Dissimulation, before taking part in high-profile matches, including bouts against Logan Paul.
Despite his huge success in a variety of different fields, KSI has been open about his ongoing battle with depression.
Discussing whether he enjoys his job, he told The Mirror in October: ‘Before I didn’t. You know, you’d get depressed, you’d get sad. You wonder ‘Do I want to do this?’ or ‘Why am I doing this?’
‘I’ve had a few times, I’d say 2017 was a time where I had like a six, seven month break on YouTube where I didn’t post. I’d delete all my tweets, delete almost all my YouTube videos, delete all my Instagram photos.’
Britain’s Got Talent fans were delighted when KSI made his debut as a judge on the talent competition during last month’s launch show
Despite his huge success in a variety of different fields, KSI has been open about his ongoing battle with depression
He admitted: ‘I was just like ‘I need to just leave the internet’. I had like a midlife crisis. I was like ‘Is this it? Is this my life? Am I just going to be doing this for the rest of my life?’
KSI candidly talked about how going to therapy has helped him ‘understand his own mind’ in an interview with Men’s Health in October 2022.
He told the publication: ‘I felt like I was on a boat and I didn’t have any paddles. I was just floating. I had all these things happening and all these people congratulating me.
‘But I just felt empty. I didn’t really have any joy in anything. I’d lost my purpose. I was just this guy who wasn’t having fun. I wasn’t happy with myself. I’d got everything I wanted, and I just wasn’t happy.’
He added: ‘I know there’s this stigma to therapy. But I think it’s more of an understanding of your own mind. Why you think the way that you think, why you are the way that you are.’
And appearing on the High Performance podcast in August last year, he clarified how often he goes to therapy.
The boxer said: ‘Every now and then, it can happen. I can feel it’s coming. And then I’d go see a therapist, talk it out, figure out what I need.’
‘It’s not like I see a therapist all the time, every week. It’s like whenever I feel something is happening or I’m not in a good spot. Booking the session, work it all out.
‘Sometimes it could take a few weeks, a few months – could take a week. Then I’m back to being me again.’
The 31-year-old YouTube sensation and professional boxer proved to be a hit with ITV viewers with a massive 5.5million people tuning in to BGT last month for his debut
It follows the news that ITV bosses are poised to sign both KSI and Maya Jama to star in their biggest Saturday night shows
Producers are set to offer KSI big money to rejoin Simon Cowell , Amanda Holden , Alesha Dixon and Bruno Tonioli as a judge next year on the hit series
It follows the news that ITV bosses are poised to sign both KSI and Maya Jama to star in their biggest Saturday night shows.
Love Island presenter Maya, 30, is set to return to the panel of The Masked Singer for the seventh series after she taking over from Rita Ora on the latest season.
She shared the panel with Mo Gilligan, Jonathan Ross and Davina McCall as well as a line up of celebrity guests.
Meanwhile Britain’s Got Talent producers are set to offer KSI big money to rejoin Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and Bruno Tonioli as a judge next year on the hit series.
A TV insider has told The Sun: ‘ITV realise they’ve got a pair of superstars shining on their shows — and they want to ensure they stay there.
‘Maya went down a storm with viewers on the last series of The Masked Singer, even though she had big shoes to fill taking over from Rita Ora.
‘KSI was also a breath of fresh air on BGT on Saturday. He’ll help attract a much younger audience.’
KSI has a huge reach across social media with 55million followers across his platforms many being younger viewers.
A BGT spokesperson said: ‘There have been no discussions regarding future series with any judge, as our full focus is on season 18, which launched this weekend as the biggest entertainment show of the year on any channel to date.’
MailOnline have contacted The Masked Singer representatives for comment.
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