25 July 2023 , 22:00
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Michael Barrymore broke down in tears as he told of the pain of missing his ex-wife Cheryl's funeral on The Jeremy Kyle Show in 2014.
The former TV presenter, 71, sobbed as he said he was "the love of her life" when remembering his former wife.
During the interview on the now defunct ITV show, Barrymore also opened up to host Jeremy Kyle about his mental health and admitted to previously attempting suicide.
Michael recently declared he is now "happier than ever" after going sober and quitting alcohol 14 years ago.
The fallen TV presenter, 71, has been making appearances on stage - receiving standing ovations along the way - for weeks now.
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'We were trying to work out a way that we could do it and I don’t think she would accept that I was gay at all because we had a full life together, complete life'The Celebrity Big Brother star, who has given his first interview in years, is currently winning praise for directing new West End show Laurel and Chaplin. Discussing his new career venture with the Daily Star, Michael says "despite all the sh**ty bits that have happened in my life, I still have never lost the desire and passion for what I do" - adding how he has discovered he is "a good director".
Michael was one of the biggest names in light entertainment during the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, thanks to fronting and presenting some of Britain's most popular TV and game shows. The 71-year-old even headlined the Royal Variety Performance in 1993 and was frequently voted the UK's favourite television star throughout the peak of his popularity. However, Michael's career effectively ended after the death of Stuart Lubbock in 2001 following a party at the TV star's Essex home.
He came out in 1995 - and as a clip from that year's National Television Awards where the Strike It Lucky presenter made an emotional speech referring to his sexuality was shown during his appearance on The Jeremy Kyle Show in 2014, Michael became visibly emotional.
Michael and his late ex-wife Cheryl pictured together in 1994 (PA)
The former TV star is currently working on a West End production (TikTok/themichaelbarrymore)“That was the night we were trying to get back together," Barrymore said of Cheryl, who was sitting in the audience at the ceremony as he thanked viewers for their support.
"We were trying to work out a way that we could do it and I don’t think she would accept that I was gay at all because we had a full life together, complete life. It just came to a head that night and I think because our lives were so exposed anyway whether it was by design or not.
"I said earlier, she said 'I made you, I’ll break you'. That was at the [Royal] Albert Hall and we never saw each other again until I got the phone call to say she had died. I didn’t even know she was ill.”
Cheryl died in April 2005, with newspaper reports at the time claiming Michael - living in New Zealand at the time - was barred from attending her funeral. Sobbing, he said: “I wasn’t allowed to go to the funeral but I found out [when I came back to live in England about four years ago] and her sister Carol rang me up and said ‘I’d like to see you’ and she said ‘You know all those things in the paper about Cheryl not wanting you to come to the funeral, it’s all nonsense she never said that’."
"Everybody close to [Cheryl] who was still seeing her… said that she loved me until the day she died and she was constantly saying ‘how can we get him back on, what can we do’… It doesn’t sound like somebody to me - without going back over too much - that has been damaged by someone physically. I was the love of her life."
The comedian also admitted to host Jeremy - who now walks on TalkTV - he tried to kill himself by overdosing on pills. Michael said on the show in 2014 the last time was four years ago and he had been rushed to hospital.
“I’ve been taken off to the hospital a couple of times," said the presenter. "Pills - too many pills, just chuck a load in my mouth… I bought them from the chemist. I think that was a cry for help.” Asked when he last tried to end his life, he added: “Four years ago. I’m a good boy now....I’m obviously not successful at it because I’m here.”
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