Gemma Collins’ ‘ego is bruised’ – but she hopes stage fall will ‘boost TOWIE ratings’

Gemma Collins is hoping that her dramatic stage fall and newfound status as a viral sensation will help to boost ratings for The Only Way is Essex, according to her co-star Charlie King.

Collins, 36, slipped and fell down a trapdoor after misjudging her step as she announced Love Island had won the Best TV Show prize at The Radio 1 Teen Awards.

King said Collins joked that she hopes her accident will help the ITVBe reality show to win a viewership to rival the figures achieved by Love Island earlier this year.

Speaking on an episode of BUILD, King told Huffington Post: “She was fine, but obviously she was going to lap that up.

“When we went into the green room, she was like, ‘That’s going to take over ‘Love Island.’ Because ‘Love Island’ is totally smashing it these days, especially over ‘TOWIE’, because it’s the new thing and the most popular reality show from the summer.

“So to her, in her little PR head, she was like, ‘That’s going to get ‘TOWIE’ back on top.’”

King, who previously dated Collins on the ITVBe show, said she suffered a bruised ego and panicked that the plunge may have proved detrimental to her career.

“I spoke to her minutes after she came off stage – she was in shock, it was a legit fall,” he said.

“It was horrible for her embarrassment wise. She was like, ‘What am I doing to do, Charlie? Am I going to be a viral sensation for the wrong thing?’

“Speaking to her the following day, she was like, ‘I’m really bruised. My ego is not only bruised, but the whole side of my body is.’”

His comments come days after Collins revealed that she was close to getting her limbs crushed as she fell down onto the platform that was bringing Marcel Somerville, Jamie Jewitt and Amber Davies up onto the stage at Wembley Arena.

She apologised to the Love Island stars for nearly ‘wiping them out’ after they were checked over by paramedics following the incident.