Simon Webbe has revealed that he was suffering with severe depression before he started Strictly Come Dancing.
The singer, who rose to fame in the 90s as a member of boy band Blue but then found it difficult when their recent reunion tour came to an end, told the Daily Mirror that he turned to alcohol and contemplated suicide.
Simon alongside his Blue band mates Lee Ryan, Antony Costa and Duncan James.
“I hated who I was and started questioning my whole life. I was really depressed. I never attempted suicide but I thought about it.
“I turned mirrors round so I didn’t have to look at myself. I didn’t want to be here, didn’t want to be a part of anything.
“I was sitting at home, curtains closed, drinking a bottle of brandy a day. I didn’t leave the house for weeks on end except to buy bread or milk.”
The singer with his professional dance partner Kristina Rihanoff.
Simon, who has a teenage daughter, told the publication that taking part in the dance show has helped him a great deal.
“Preparing for Strictly and being on it, I have lost four stone and changed my whole life. Now I want to get up in the morning. Learning the dances every week has been like therapy.”