Sheridan Smith, 37, spoke out about a quip made by presenter Graham Norton, 56, while he was on stage at the BAFTA TV Awards in 2016. At the time, Graham told the crowd: “We’re all excited for a couple of drinks tonight. Or, as it’s known in theatrical circles, a few glasses of technical difficulties.” His swipe came just days after Sheridan denied being drunk after a showing of Funny Girl was halted 15 minutes in. The performance was cancelled, wth theatre staff saying it was down to technical difficulties.
Members of the audience at the Savoy Theatre tweeted that Sheridan had seemed “drunk”, allegations which the actress’ spokesperson subsequently denied.
At the time, they told The Telegraph: “I have spoken to my client and this is categorically not true.”
Remembering Graham’s joke at the BAFTAs, Sheridan has now told Stella Magazine: “That tipped me over the edge. I lost it.
“I was in unbelievable distress, trying to keep it all together and then a room full of people in my industry were just laughing at me,” she added.
Sheridan responded to the gag with a series of angry tweets, but says she doesn’t even remember the posts.
“Honestly, I don’t remember [the tweets],” she told the publication. “Drink, desperation, humiliation. I fell over the edge.”
Shortly after the BAFTAs, Sheridan pulled out of the remaining Funny Girl dates and was replaced by her understudy, with a statement saying: “The entire team at Funny Girl is thinking of Sheridan, and know she is getting the rest and support she needs during this very difficult and stressful time.”
It was just after the Gavin and Stacey star began her stint playing the lead in the show that her father, Colin, was diagnosed with cancer.
He died later that year.
Sheridan told the publication she “couldn’t cope” with her father’s illness and that she went to see specialists to try to help with her stress and anxiety.
“One doctor said I was bipolar, another said I was suffering from extreme anxiety disorder.
“All I knew was that the man I loved most in the world was in a hospital bed and I just wanted to be with him,” she added.
Following the release her her raw new interview, Sheridan took to Twitter to say she was feeling “vulnerable”.
“Feeling pretty vulnerable today after my interview with @StellaMagazine but am proud to have come this far,” she told her 671,000 followers.
“Honesty is always the best policy. I don’t want to hide or feel shame anymore.
“I hope it can help others feel the same. It’s ok not to be ok.”