Sheridan Smith has revealed she was rushed to hospital and had five seizures after she stopped taking anti-anxiety medication back in 2016.
The actress, 39, made the revelation on the yet to air ITV special Sheridan Smith: Becoming Mum, which tells the intimate story of her journey to motherhood and mental health struggles.
The West End star – who welcomed her first child in May – revealed she ‘went off the deep end’ after she was nominated for her performance in The C Word at the 2016 TV Baftas.
Honest: Sheridan Smith has revealed she was rushed to hospital and had five seizures after she stopped taking anti-anxiety in a new documentary about her journey to motherhood. She is pictured breastfeeding her son Billy in new pictures from the programme
Speaking on the programme she recalled the incident, as she said: ‘Graham Norton was hosting and made a joke at my expense about me being a drunk…
‘I was so humiliated. It’s a room full of your peers, 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.’
She added: ‘What people didn’t realise is that I’d become addicted to anti-anxiety tablets.
Mother: The actress, 39, will appear on the ITV special Sheridan Smith: Becoming Mum in September to tell the intimate story of her pregnancy (pictured at 8 months) and mental health struggles
‘That night I took myself off to a hotel on my own. In my crazy mind, I thought, ‘I’ll do it (stop taking the tablets) myself’.
‘I went there and just stopped my tablets. Weirdly, a friend of mine had rung me and she came to the hotel.
‘It’s a miracle she did. It’s like someone was looking out for me because what I didn’t realise is that if you stop these tablets abruptly, you seizure.
‘I seizured five times and got rushed to A&E and she’s the one who got me breathing again.’
Journey: The show goes on to say how she felt ‘calm’ and ‘contentment’ after the birth of her first son Billy in May who she shares with fiancé Jamie Horn, 30
However the show goes on to say how she felt ‘calm’ and ‘contentment’ after the birth of her first son Billy in May who she shares with fiancé Jamie Horn, 30.
The actress had an emergency caesarean when her baby arrived early this summer, while the country was in lockdown.
The documentary filmed the star during her pregnancy as she discussed her mental health struggles.
Cameras followed the star as she attended her first scans, pre-natal classes and sessions with a specialist therapist Dr Alain Gregoire, as well as at home with Jamie.
She said she wants to help other women who worry about their mental health issues resurfacing in pregnancy.
Baby bump: The actress had an emergency caesarean when her baby arrived early this summer, while the country was in lockdown
‘At the start of my pregnancy, I’d just got myself to a good place and I thought, ‘Please don’t let this be a turning point where things change for me. That was my biggest worry,’ she said.
She added that she feels a bond she had never experienced before becoming a mum.
‘The day he smiled at me was more amazing and emotional even than the day he was born, because you suddenly think, ‘Oh my god – you love me back!
‘Suddenly all those sleepless nights and all that worry goes out the window. You look in those little eyes and the love you feel – it’s like a connection I’ve never felt.’
Sweet: In May former Gavin and Stacey star announced she’d named her son Billy, as she shared a snap of the cake she received after completing filming for the documentary
Smith adds: ‘Now I’ve got this little family and I just feel, I can’t explain it, like a contentment, a calm.
‘Maybe I was looking for something in the wrong places and now I feel like I’ve found it in this little boy when I look in his eyes.’
Sheridan has been incredibly open about her struggles with mental health following the death of her father Colin in 2016.
Tragic loss: Sheridan has been incredibly open about her struggles with mental health following the death of her father Colin in 2016 (pictured together in 2011)
Last year, she revealed she’s gone teetotal after a string of public meltdowns in the wake of her father’s death.
The actress made the decision to quit alcohol as she ‘fell apart completely’ following years of offstage troubles.
In a candid interview with The Telegraph’s Stella magazine, the West End star explained: ‘I was supposed to be a celebrity but I couldn’t do it right. I drank pints and made rude jokes and was brilliant at saying the wrong thing.’
She added: ‘I was drunk, upset, emotional and angry and… Can you believe I, of all people, went and put it on Insta again.
‘How many times can I rant off on Insta and regret it and then do it again? I’m such a k***.
Sheridan, who has struggled with depression for years, met fiance Jamie on mobile dating app Tinder in 2018, and he has proved to be her biggest champion.
On giving up the booze, she said: ‘You can’t do it without support but Jamie knows and I know I’m so much better for not drinking.’
The couple announced the news of their son’s birth in a social media post in May and Sheridan gushed she was ‘overwhelmed with love’ for the new arrival.
The star shared a first glimpse of the tot’s tiny hand as she told fans: ‘Our little man has arrived! We are both completely overwhelmed with love.’
Candid: The actress will appear on the ITV special to document her pregnancy, following the birth of her son Billy in May
Sheridan first confirmed that she and partner Jamie Horn were expecting in November, when she shared a snap of a baby blanket embroidered with the name: ‘Baby Smith-Horn.’
A month earlier she also took to Twitter where she posted about preparing for her ‘most important role to date’.
She wrote: ‘Super excited for 2020, gonna finally get to work with a producer I admire hugely! But first, my most important role to date..’ along with emojis of a pregnant woman and a woman cradling a newborn baby.
Sheridan and Jamie got engaged in May 2018 just three months after meeting on dating app Tinder.
Sheridan Smith: Becoming Mum airs on Tuesday September 1 at 9pm on ITV.
Happy: Sheridan and Jamie got engaged in May 2018 just three months after meeting on dating app Tinder