EXCLUSIVE
Andrew O’Keefe is being relentlessly harassed by his fellow inmates as the former TV golden boy grapples with his sad and lonely life behind bars.
Daily Mail Australia can reveal the 52-year-old’s celebrity status has not afforded him any luxuries or special privileges inside the Metropolitan Prison Centre at Sydney’s notorious Silverwater jail.
Instead, he has become a constant target of cruel taunts from the other accused criminals who call the facility home, with prison insiders revealing that inmates take any opportunity to mock the former Deal or No Deal host over his tragic downfall.
Sources said one group of inmates was particularly vicious, crossing their arms in front of their faces whenever they saw O’Keefe in the prison yard while shouting “No deal!”
Despite the constant harassment, O’Keefe has not filed any formal complaints about the treatment he receives within the center and prefers to keep a low profile and be as private as possible.
Prison officials have not deemed the heckling serious enough to segregate the fallen Channel Seven star, who has been sharing a two-bed cell with another inmate at the facility, from the general population or offer him protective custody.
His daily routine is a world away from the glitzy life he once led in his sprawling Bondi home while raking in $800,000 a year from his dual presenting roles on Weekend Sunrise and hit game show The Chase Australia.
Andrew O’Keefe arrives at Rose Bay Police Station before being arrested on Monday
The 52-year-old is currently in a cell at Sydney’s Silverwater Remand Centre.
The former star is allowed to exercise in the prison yard every day before being locked in his cell between 3 p.m. and 7 a.m.
When he was last in remand two years ago, O’Keefe claimed prison guards mocked him for his fall from grace, only for the guards to accuse the former lawyer of being a “demanding prima donna.”
But this time there is less animosity between O’Keefe and his guards, who noted that the former television host was much more reserved about his tragic passing.
“Last time he was here he was a big mouth, arrogant and self-righteous,” a Silverwater prison source told Daily Mail Australia.
‘This time, he’s just very quiet and keeps to himself.
“We haven’t had any problems with him. In fact, it’s a bit sad to see him like this.”
O’Keefe’s Spartan The prison cell includes a metal bunk bed, an open steel toilet, a jug and a sandwich maker, but little else.
He is taken out of bed at 7am every day to be ‘let go’ and then given a prison ‘breakfast pack’ including milk, bread, cereal and jam, and is then free to roam the yard or watch shared television in the common room with the centre’s other accused criminals.
Roll calls take place at 9 a.m. and noon, when O’Keefe and his cronies receive their “lunch pack,” usually consisting of a sandwich and a piece of fruit.
All meals are consumed in the prisoners’ cells before they are locked up for the day from 3pm and not allowed out again until the following morning.
His dinner is heated with an ice pack and is also given to him at 3 p.m. It is the only hot meal O’Keefe eats during the day.
During his long nights caged with his cellmate, O’Keefe has access to a tablet on which he can pay to watch television or play card games like solitaire, but he is not allowed to access the internet.
Although he is allowed to purchase additional food and snacks, he is limited to spending a total of $150 at the prison store each month.
The once golden boy of television is adjusting to his new life behind bars
NSW Corrective Services would not comment on how O’Keefe was coping with life behind bars “for security and privacy reasons”.
O’Keefe has been in pretrial detention since Monday after being arrested for drug possession and violating bail conditions.
The troubled artist’s latest brush with the law came two days after he suffered a heroin overdose at his apartment in Sydney’s east end and had to be revived by paramedics and taken to hospital.
O’Keefe’s attorney returned to court Thursday when a separate, unrelated charge was first mentioned.
Police charged the former TV presenter with driving under the influence of an illegal drug in Darlinghurst, central Sydney, on April 14.
His lawyer, Jahan Kalantar, requested a two-week adjournment so that he could seek advice from O’Keefe.
The judge agreed, but said O’Keefe must enter a plea when he returns to court on Oct. 8.
