Heston Blumenthal has said he fears watching the high-pressure depictions of kitchen life in TV series The Bear could trigger a bipolar episode.
The restaurateur and TV chef announced earlier this year that he had been diagnosed with a mental illness, after previously receiving a positive assessment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in 2017.
Blumenthal, 58, runs restaurants including three-Michelin-starred Fat Duck, two-Michelin-starred Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, Michelin-starred Hind’s Head and the Perfectionists’ Cafe.
He said he hasn’t been able to watch the award-winning series The Bear because it captures the high-pressure atmosphere in the kitchen.
Blumenthal told BBC Newsnight: “There are some big chefs I know, friends of mine, who have been involved in the advice on it, so it must be quite accurate. I hope I can watch it one day, but right now it’s too early.”
Blumenthal’s wife, Melanie Ceysson, added that he had not seen the show “because I think that is the biggest trigger for Heston’s condition”.
Bipolar disorder is a serious mental illness in which people have extreme mood swings, although their frequency and type vary. Some people experience more episodes of high mood or mania, and others experience more periods of low mood or depression, and many, but not all, have psychotic thoughts. Stress and insufficient sleep can trigger these episodes.
Although many people remain undiagnosed, the charity Bipolar UK says there are 1.3 million people in Britain with the disorder.
Blumenthal was released from jail last October after a mental health crisis in which he experienced mania, barely slept, had suicidal thoughts and became hallucinatory. He has previously said he wants to talk about his condition to raise awareness and reduce stigma.
He was diagnosed with bipolar type 1, which refers to mania that may be followed by shorter periods of depression, and is now taking medication to stabilize his mood.
He has also reflected on whether there were signs earlier in his career. During the BBC interview, Blumenthal said he worked 120 hours a week for the first ten years of his career, “because I had no choice.”
“I slept 20 hours in a whole week,” he said. “The restaurant was young and I got up at five in the morning, went to the kitchen and left at midnight. It didn’t really come to the fore, my bipolarity, when I was in the kitchen.”
Blumenthal said he doesn’t see his diagnosis as “all doom and gloom,” but rather said it’s “part of who I am.”