Max George quit Scared Of The Dark during the series’ emotional finale after viewers saw him open up about Tom Parker’s death and his battle with alcohol abuse.
The singer, 34, admitted he had “some things he needed to fix” when he announced to his fellow celebs that he would be leaving the show on Thursday.
During his time on the challenging program, Max tearfully admitted that he will never be able to deal with the death of his bandmate Tom, having passed away in March last year.
He also revealed that he used alcohol to “adjust” to the spotlight and to ease his anxiety during his “lowest point ever,” while talking to Paul Gascoigne and discussing his issues for the first time.
In the emotional scenes, Max explained, “I have some things I really need to start fixing in my life. I want to stay and I’m very disappointed, but I have to go.’
Shock: Max George, 34, quit Scared Of The Dark during the series finale on Thursday after viewers saw him open up about Tom Parker’s death and his battle with alcohol abuse
Upsetting: The singer admitted he had “some things he needed to fix” when he announced to his fellow celebs that he would be leaving the show on Thursday
He added, “I’ve talked about things I’ve never talked about before.”
Paul replied, “You’ve been a rock to all of us. You made us proud and you made yourself proud.’
Max’s departure came as a surprise to the others, as Scarlett Moffatt and Donna Preston burst into tears over his departure.
Afterwards, Donna tearfully said, “The thing is, I don’t even know what he looks like, he’s such a wonderful soul.”
“I am also very proud of all of you, you are all destroying it. Do me a favor and none of you will go home before the end,’ Max told the group.
Nicola Adams said goodbye and said, “Max, you’re one step closer to healing now.”
“I love you all and bunker, I’m afraid of the dark,” the singer announced as he left.
Paul walked him out and said sweetly, “Let me hold the door for you one last time.”
Sad: Max’s departure came as a surprise to the others as Scarlett Moffatt (pictured) and Donna Preston burst into tears over his departure
Difficult: In the emotional scenes, Max explained: ‘I have some things that I really need to start fixing in my life. I wanna stay and I’m really gutted but I gotta go’
In scenes that appeared in Wednesday night’s episode, Max was comforted by Paul as he discussed his binge drinking and the loss of his bandmate Tom.
He was referring to an incident where he drank 10 pints and three bottles of wine in one night while celebrating his birthday.
The binge contained approximately 38 units of alcohol. The NHS recommends that men and women consume no more than 14 units per week.
Speaking of his drinking, he said, “I would always be p***ed before we performed. I had a hard time adjusting, so I drank to make myself feel like I wasn’t bothered.
“It’s kind of hard to differentiate between anxiety and depression sometimes, but mine was definitely more of the anxiety side that started when the guys hit number one with All Time Low.”
Referring to his birthday binge session, he confessed, “I was sick for a week. The doctor looked at my liver and said my liver count was quite low, I’m not messing with my liver. So I quit.’
He added that he was also inspired to quit drinking after learning of bandmate Tom’s stage four glioblastoma diagnosis.
Bursting into tears, he confessed to Paul, “How do you handle it? There’s no cure for that, so you just learn to get on with your life, I guess. But deal with it, absolutely not.
“I don’t… I don’t think I’ll ever be okay with it, you know. One of the last things I said to him was, I thanked him for making my life so much better than what it could have ever been, you know, like that whole journey of being in the band.
Supported: In scenes that appeared on Wednesday night’s episode, Max was comforted by Paul as he discussed his binge drinking and the loss of his bandmate Tom
Heartbreaking: Max added that he was also inspired to quit drinking after learning of bandmate Tom’s stage four glioblastoma diagnosis
‘He was my best friend. F**k. I just don’t want it to be a burden or anything to anyone else.
“This place has broken me up for talking about things I haven’t even told my own family.”
In Scared Of The Dark, celebrities live in complete darkness for eight days while participating in challenges.
If you are concerned about yourself or someone else drinking, call Drinkline toll free on 0300 123 1110 (weekdays 9am to 8pm, weekends 11am to 4pm).