Sheridan Smith has opened up about suffering a 'meltdown' which was 'triggered' by a cruel joke by Graham Norton, while she was in the midst of 'double grief'.
The actor was starring Fanny Brice in Funny Girl on the West End back in 2016 when she began turning to alcohol after her father Colin Smith was diagnosed with cancer — the same disease that claimed the life of her beloved brother Julian, who died when he was just 18.
At the time, Smith had also become addicted to anti-anxiety medication and the cocktail of meds and alcohol led to complaints she was slurring her words on stage, which later led to the show being pulled.
Later that year, Norton was hosting the BAFTAs when he told the audience: "We’re all excited for a couple of drinks tonight. Or, as it’s known in theatrical circles, a few glasses of technical difficulties."
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Sitting in the audience, Smith was left humiliated by the joke and later that night she ended up being hospitalised after suffering from five seizures in her hotel room.
Four years later, she spoke about the harrowing experience in the ITV documentary, Sheridan Smith: Becoming Mum.
"Graham Norton was hosting and made a joke, basically at my expense, about me being a drunk," she said.
"I was so humiliated, you know, it’s a room full of your peers. And people you want to work with or have worked with. That night for me was like the final straw, before my brain totally went off the deep end."
The Cilla star went on to say that later that night, she took herself off to a hotel room on her own, and decided to go cold turkey on her anti-anxiety medication as she didn't want to go to rehab.
"What I didn’t realise is, that if you stop the tablets abruptly, you seizure. And, to cut a long story short, I got seizures five times and got rushed into A&E," Smith said.
"Weirdly, a friend of mine rang me and she came to the hotel. It’s a miracle that she did. It was like someone was looking out for me. She’s the one who got me breathing again."
This week, the actor has spoken about 'reclaiming' the incident as she returns to the West End in Alan Ayckbourn's dark comedy Woman in Mind, where she plays a woman who suffers a mental breakdown following a head injury.
"It’s reclaiming it because after what happened … I didn’t ever want it to get out so publicly," she told the Times.
"You’re embarrassed. I felt ashamed, and I still sometimes feel it, like, ‘Oh, I wish that part of my life hadn’t happened.’ But it did."
Speaking about her character, vicar's wife Susan, she added: "I don’t ever want to do an easy part or something safe.
"And I can relate to it — because I’ve been there myself, I guess. It’s nice, when you’re out the other side, that you can bring all those elements that you felt at the time."
LADbible has contacted representatives of Graham Norton for comment.
If you're experiencing distressing thoughts and feelings, the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) is there to support you. They're open from 5pm–midnight, 365 days a year. Their national number is 0800 58 58 58 and they also have a webchat service if you're not comfortable talking on the phone.
Topics: Mental Health, Alcohol, Graham Norton
Emma Rosemurgey