Sheridan Smith admits she felt ‘ashamed’ when she suffered a mental breakdown following her father’s cancer diagnosis – after it forced her to pull out of her stage show
Sheridan Smith has revealed she felt ‘ashamed’ when she suffered a nervous breakdown after it forced her to withdraw from her role in Funny Girl.
The actress, 42, stepped down from her role on the show in 2016 after a series of blows for the star, including battles with alcohol and anxiety, and the loss of her father to cancer.
In a candid new interview, Sheridan admitted she had “no support team” during her struggles, and praised the wider acceptance of therapy in recent years.
The star added that her new role in the stage adaptation of the 1977 film Opening Night is “so close” given her struggles, but that she is now in a “strong place.”
Sheridan told it The guard: ‘It’s so close to the bone. I actually let the curtain fall on me. I have experienced such a crisis.
Sheridan Smith has revealed she felt ‘ashamed’ when she suffered a nervous breakdown after it forced her to withdraw from her role in Funny Girl
“But there are therapists here you can talk to,” she says. ‘It’s so different from when I had my meltdown eight years ago. There was no support team then. It was just: ”Get on stage!”
Opening Night, which takes place at the Gielgud Theater from March 6, follows a theater company’s preparations to stage a new play on Broadway.
It follows stage actress Myrtle Gordon, whose mental health begins to take a turn after the death of one of her fans outside the theater.
As she prepares for the opening night of her show, under pressure to continue her performances, she suffers a nervous breakdown.
Despite the role being close to her own experience, Sheridan said: ‘I knew I had to do the play as a way to take control of what I was going through. I was so ashamed of that time. I have to prove that I’m not that person. It was very cathartic.”
In 2016, Sheridan was forced to withdraw from her role as Fanny Bryce in the musical Funny Girl after her beloved father was diagnosed with cancer.
The star had missed several performances and it was later confirmed that she withdrew from the show due to ‘stress and exhaustion’.
The actress stepped down from her role on the show in 2016 after a series of blows for the star, including battles with alcohol and anxiety, and the loss of her father to cancer.
In a candid new interview, Sheridan admitted she had ‘no support team’ during her struggles (pictured in Funny Girl in 2016)
After being criticized by fans angry that she had quit performing in London, the actress revealed her father’s diagnosis on Twitter before promising to personally repay fans.
While Sheridan returned to Funny Girl weeks later, she was devastated when her father passed away in December, resulting in the actress pulling out of an appearance at the Royal Variety.
The star has since revealed that she almost died after deciding to stop taking her anxiety medication while mourning the death of her father.
She said Radio times how the incident happened while she was staying in a hotel for the 2016 BAFTAs after being nominated for her role in The C Word.
‘In my crazy mind I thought, ‘I don’t want to be in rehab, I’ll do it myself’, so I went there and just stopped taking my tablets.’
She continued: ‘What I didn’t realize is that if you stop taking the tablets abruptly, you will have a seizure. And long story short, I had seizures five times and was rushed to the emergency room.
‘Strangely enough, a friend of mine called me and she came to the hotel. It’s a miracle she did that. It was like someone was looking out for me.
Adding: ‘She’s the one who made me breathe again.’
Last week, Sheridan revealed that she has been diagnosed with ADHD.
She spoke candidly about her diagnosis during an interview with Fashion and admitted that it has “helped her understand a lot of things” in her life.
The star has since revealed that she almost died after deciding to stop taking her anxiety medication while mourning the death of her father.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a condition that includes symptoms such as restlessness and difficulty concentrating.
The mother of one finds herself constantly ‘overanalyzing’ little things – as simple as replying to WhatsApp group chats or thinking about what to say.
Sheridan, who also discussed how she can sometimes feel ‘useless’, revealed that her ADHD diagnosis helped conclude why she has a lot of ‘brain background noise’.
The actress shares son Billy, three, with her ex-fiance Jamie Horn, 33, who she split from in 2021.