Sheridan Smith opens up about mental breakdown: 'My life was falling apart'

Sheridan Smith has shed some light on her difficult 2016, opening up about her mental breakdown following the cancer diagnosis and death of her beloved father Colin in December 2016.

His diagnosis earlier in the year led to an anxiety and depression battle for the star, with the actress hitting the headlines when she was forced to take a two month break from her stint in West End show ‘Funny Girl’.

Speaking to Culture magazine, Sheridan explained: “My life was falling apart and I didn’t tell anyone.

“I was totally terrified that I was going to come unstuck, that I couldn’t hold these feelings of insecurity in much longer without it coming to a head.

“My dad getting cancer triggered it, but it had been a long time coming.”

Sheridan was the subject of controversy when three of her ‘Funny Girl’ performances were forced to be cancelled part-way through, with audience members claiming that the actress had been “slurring her words”, prompting speculation that she had been drunk on stage – something that Sheridan has always strongly denied.

The star went on to confess that her insecurities would increase with the more successful she became, with Sheridan winning both BAFTAs and Oliviers throughout her glittering career.

She told the publication: “All I could imagine was people thinking, ‘You should be grateful. Get over yourself.’

“But when you have that degree of anxiety, you can’t just pull yourself together and you can’t explain it. It just snowballs until it’s out of control.”

Thankfully, Sheridan has now been able to get her mental health demons under control and made a showstopping return to the spotlight earlier this month, performing show tune ‘My Man’ on last week’s Strictly Come Dancing results show.

Fans were left impressed by Sheridan’s vocals and took to social media to praise the actress after her performance.

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