See The Bridge contestants Sly and Julie build a tight alliance

Sly, 60, spoke to the group: "I will do a bit for [Julie] before I do my bit because this one is picking up logs bigger than herself, you understand? If I could vouch for somebody I would vouch for her... She's a solid, you know?"

This week the pair have grown even closer as the contestants on The Bridge work towards their goal of building the structure to the island within the allotted 20 days.

Julie, 28, explained why she was so anxious about talking to the group. "Standing up and talking for myself and about myself is stressing me out. I can't do it... All my life I've been told to act like everything's OK. I think that's why I've never had a voice and being here has made me realise it's a big issue."

Julie, whose family are originally from Vietnam, revealed that her mother had spent two and a half years in prison and she and her siblings were cared for by her nan.

Her mother asked her to pretend that nothing had happened and that everything was fine, which was at the heart of her struggle to express herself.

She hoped being on The Bridge would give her some direction and she told Sly: "I've got a few lessons to learn from you."

Sly's provocative personality hasn't won him universal popularity among The Bridge contestants, but he was turning out to be Julie's mentor.

"He's the nicest person here and I'm happy that I met him," she said.

Will that be enough to keep her on the show until The Bridge is constructed?

The Bridge screens on Channel 4 on Sunday 25th October at 9pm.

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