Loose Women's Linda Robson admits she was an alcoholic and put on suicide watch
Linda Robson has bravely opened up about her about experience with poor mental health and alcohol addiction.
The Loose Women star, 65, lays her life bare in a candid new memoir, with the actress sharing an extract ahead of publication. In the passages, Linda writes how she struggled with insomnia, OCD and was even put on suicide watch at one point after suffering a breaking down.
In her upcoming memoir, Linda explains how she thought it would "never happen" to her as she detailed her harrowing story. She tells readers how she thinks her mental health crisis dates back to 2008, when Ben Kinsella, a close family friend of Linda's, was murdered at the age of 16.
Linda explains how she now wonders if she had got help at the time, if things could have been different. The Birds of a Feather actress recalls how her sleeping pill usage increased and so did her enjoyment of alcohol, admitting she went from supping a glass a night to a bottle an evening ahead of her 60th birthday.
Linda Robson writes how she feared she was a burden to her family (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
The Loose Women star with her now ex-husband Mark Dunford (Getty Images Europe)Recalling one particular episode, Linda tells readers how her family eventually grew concerned and considered getting her sectioned under the Mental Health Act. Linda agreed to seek help voluntarily and checked into the Nightingale Hospital, "not knowing if I would come home again".
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"I hated myself. I told myself I was just a burden to Mark and the kids and that I was ruining all their lives," Linda writes in the extract of her memoir published in the Daily Mail. "I couldn't even be trusted with my own grandchildren. That's when I started to think i'd be better off dead. At least without me around they'd be able to get on with their lives and wouldn't have to worry about who was going to be looking after me.
"I told the Nightingale staff I wanted to kill myself and I was immediately put on suicide watch with someone sitting outside my bedroom door the whole time," Linda continues. "I thought about how I could do I and considered saving up all my diazepam and taking them. I imagined slashing my wrists. I has started self-harming."
Linda continues to recall how her Birds of a Feather and Loose Women co-stars pleaded with her to continue treatment, with many of them calling her family to check in on their friend's health. Linda eventually left the Nightingale hospital in March 2019 and checked into the Priory shortly after, where she began to be hopeful about the future. She began the AA 12 Steps treatment programme and started attended counselling sessions.
The star concludes the extract writing how she is now thrilled she is entrusted to babysit her grandchildren once again and admits she is "absolutely fine" to be around alcohol and is "never tempted" to drink again these days. "There's no going back now," Linda writes, "I'm doing really well."
Linda's new autobiography comes just months on from the star confirming in November 2023 that she and Mark had decided to separate after 33 years of marriage. They share two children, Louis and Roberta, known as Bobbie. She confirmed the split to Women's Own magazine last year.
She said: "He's [Mark] a really good dad and we had some good years, but enough is enough. I've got my family and my kids around me. And I'm going on a cruise with Lesley Joseph in November. I'm keeping busy. I feel fine. I'm just going away on trips all the time." Linda also mentioned: "I'm not interested [in dating] honestly. I can't be a***d with all that."
Before she shared the news, Linda talked about her marriage troubles on Loose Women. She explained: "If something's not right in a relationship then I find it very hard to disguise it. "And things haven't been right in my relationship for quite a long time so, erm, I've been very honest about it."
*If you are struggling with mental health, you can speak to a trained advisor from Mind mental health charity on 0300 123 3393 or email [email protected]
*If you are struggling with alcohol abuse or addiction, advice and support can be found at alcoholchange.org.uk
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