Riverdale’s Camila Mendes left battling panic attacks on set of series 5 as mental health hit new low

RIVERDALE’S Camila Mendes was left battling panic attacks on set of series five as her mental health hit a new low.

The 26-year-old – who plays Veronica Lodge in the popular teen drama – has opened up about how filming for the fifth season during a pandemic has affected her.

• The best series on Netflix
• The best movies on Netflix
• New on Netflix: What to watch this week

Rex Features

Camila Mendes has lifted the lid on what her mental health is like after filming for Riverdale season five during a pandemic[/caption]

The fifth series of The CW show was renewed at the beginning of January 2020, but things were brought to a halt when Covid-19 hit last year.

After they were given the all clear, cast and crew starting filming back in September 2020 and the series premiered at the start of January 2021.

The actress admitted that the stress and worry of the pandemic hit her hard whilst filming and has had to come up with coping mechanisms to control her anxiety.

She recently told Health magazine: “When we first started shooting season five, I started having panic attacks, which was strange for me.

Alamy

Camila has played on-screen alter-ego Veronica since 2017[/caption]

The health magazine/Nino Munoz

Camila opened up about her mental health in April’s issue of Health[/caption]

“I think it was because I was in Vancouver and borders were closed—no one could visit us.

“You start to miss your home and your life, and you don’t have your friends or community with you.”

The star admitted that she’s become a huge fan of relaxing baths and also takes regular breaks from her phone to help when she’s feeling anxious.

Camila has also started seeing a therapist to talk about how she’s feeling and has been writing in a journal too.

Alamy

A lot has changed for Camila’s character since season five aired[/caption]

Getty - Contributor

Camila used to date co-star Charles Melton[/caption]

She explained: “You write a few brief things each day that you’re grateful for. I never thought I’d be one of those people, but I love it…

“It’s great because you’re still checking in with yourself and you feel good because you’ve done something for yourself.”

As fans of the show will know, season five features a huge time jump.

Due to the pandemic, the cast weren’t able to finish season four, so luckily they’ve managed to merge it into the newest season.

But now that episode three has aired, the gang have shot into the future and are living out their university days.

When the highly anticipated series hit our screens at the beginning of the year, fans were left “in floods of tears” at the heart-breaking prom scenes.

Betty (Lili Reinhart), Archie (KJ Apa), Jughead (Cole Sprouse) and Veronica (Camila Mendes) were all getting ready for a magical night at their prom.

But things turned sour when Archie confessed to Veronica that he cheated on her with Betty.

The CW

The opening episode of season five saw the gang enjoying their prom[/caption]

Last month fans were left “gasping” as Archie and Betty striped naked for steamy shower sex scene.

After the seven year jump the pair found themselves back in Riverdale and ended up getting a little close.

Most recently Riverdale star KJ Apa compared playing her alter-ego Archie to “being in jail” and blasting “judgemental” fans for “dissecting his life”.

The Archie Andrews actor moaned about the fact his personal life is continually under scrutiny due to being on the popular show.