Award show host Graham Norton made a "humiliating" crack about one star's very public troubles. Sat in the audience, it was her "final straw." Photo / Getty Images
Award show host Graham Norton made a "humiliating" crack about one star's very public troubles. Sat in the audience, it was her "final straw." Photo / Getty Images
English actress Sheridan Smith has revealed she almost died after being humiliated by comedian Graham Norton at an awards ceremony.
In her new documentary Sheridan Smith: Becoming Mum, she spoke out on her battle with anxiety.
She revealed that in 2016 she was in the running for a BAFTA awardbut was rushed to an emergency room after suffering five seizures which caused her to stop breathing.
Launching the awards show, chat show host Norton said: "Let's get started because, of course, the sooner we begin, the sooner we can have a couple of drinks ... or as they say in theatrical circles, a couple of glasses of technical difficulties."
At the time, Smith's West End production of the musical Funny Girl had been halted due to "technical difficulties".
After reports emerged she had been slurring her lines, some fans assumed it was due to her heavy drinking - unaware she was dealing with her father Colin's recent cancer diagnosis.
"What people didn't realise was that I'd become addicted to anti-anxiety tablets," she explained in her documentary.
She revealed that after the event she checked herself into a hotel and stopped taking her medication immediately, causing a seizure.
"In my crazy mind I thought, 'I don't wanna be in rehab - I'll do it myself', so I went there and I just stopped my tablets.
"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."
She was later rescued by a friend.
"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."
In the documentary Smith speaks about having therapy for the first time, to explore issues which she believes could stem from her childhood and the death of her sibling when he was 18 and she was eight.
WHERE TO GET HELP:
If you are worried about your or someone else's mental health, the best place to get help is your GP or local mental health provider. However, if you or someone else is in danger or endangering others, call 111.
