Helen Flanagan has revealed she feared her psychotic break would ‘ruin’ her career, after suffering a mental health battle earlier this year.
Speaking to The Mirror, the former Coronation Street star, 33, divulged details of her painstaking breakdown, which caused her to pull out of her acting comeback in a UK tour of murder mystery play Cluedo 2.
The star, who was replaced by Strictly and Corrie star Ellie Leach in the show, said: ‘I was heartbroken. It was my dream job and I thought I’d ruined my career. But I knew I needed to deal with things so I wouldn’t ever get to that place again.’
She admitted however that she needed the ‘healthy’ time off, which ‘changed everything for the better’ despite her initial concerns over career future.
In February, it was revealed that she was bowing out of her role as Miss Scarlett after she was ‘advised to withdraw for medical reasons’, however she failed to give further details of the reason behind her departure – sparking fear among fans.
Helen Flanagan has revealed she feared her psychotic break would ‘ruin’ her career, after suffering a mental health battle earlier this year
Speaking to The Mirror , the former Coronation Street star, 33, divulged details of her painstaking breakdown, which caused her to pull out of her acting comeback in a UK tour of murder mystery play Cluedo 2
The star, who was replaced by Strictly and Corrie star Ellie Leach in the show, said: ‘I was heartbroken. It was my dream job and I thought I’d ruined my career. But I knew I needed to deal with things so I wouldn’t ever get to that place again’
Taking to Instagram in March, revealed that across January and February she was fighting a secret battle with her mental health after her split from Scott Sinclair.
She has now Helen has admitted the extent of her woes – as she revealed to the publication that she was seeing things and felt like she was in danger all the time after having a reaction to her ADHD medication.
she confessed she struggled to deal with the split: ‘I don’t see it as a break-up, I see it as a divorce. We were together 13 years. But instead of processing it all, I threw myself into work and shut off my emotions.
‘I just went into survival mode. Then it all came to the surface earlier this year and I was mentally and physically breaking down.’
She then started medicating for her ADHD and suffered a bad reaction to her medication as she explained: ‘It was really sad and very scary. I was seeing things and I felt like I was in danger all the time.’
Whilst in the grasps of her episode, Helen jetted to Bali with her kids Matilda, eight, Delilah, five, and Charlie, two, who she shares with ex Scott.
Helen didn’t have her children over Christmas as they were with their father so she decided to take them to the sunny destination for a special New Years.
During the trip, she shared a slew of sweet snaps – with smiles hiding her hidden pain following the painful break-up from her ex and her new life as a single mum.
The star, who was replaced by Strictly and Corrie star Ellie Leach in the show, said: ‘I was heartbroken. It was my dream job and I thought I’d ruined my career. But I knew I needed to deal with things so I wouldn’t ever get to that place again’ (pictured in 2019)
Helen has admitted just how scary the breakdown was as she revealed she was seeing things and felt like she was in danger all the time after having a reaction to her ADHD medication (pictured her children Matilda, eight, Delilah, five, and Charlie, two)
While she did not comment on her battle at the time, she was the grasp of a psychotic breakdown due to unresolved trauma surrounding her split.
The couple called it quits on their relationship back in 2022 after spending 13 years together.
Helen’s children went to stay with her parents while she sought help as the mother made sure to put her family first.
Putting herself and her mental health first, Helen pulled out of playing Miss Scarlett in the theatre tour of Cluedo 2 as she wasn’t well enough to leave her family and commit to the show.
The actress was replaced by fellow former Coronation Street star Ellie Leach, however Helen said she was heartbroken to have to pass on the part and worried she had ruined her career.
The couple called it quits on their relationship back in 2022 after spending 13 years together but are in a better place to co-parent now
After suffering a bad reaction to her medication as she explained: ‘It was really sad and very scary. I was seeing things and I felt like I was in danger all the time’
Helen opened up about her psychosis for the first in March after a break from social media as she explained she was ’emotionally struggling’ with her split from ex Scott Sinclair and the demands of being a working single mother.
She began: ‘So basically I really struggled mental health wise December/ January,’ Helen began her post. I felt really not great in my head over Christmas and I didn’t really feel that much different when I took the kids away for new year. Had a lot of difficult things going on things I just can’t talk about on Instagram.’
She ended her post by stating that ‘I’ve always been honest on here and I feel in a really good happy place now. therapy can be amazing and I feel like I’ve worked on myself with things that were quite tough to me but I feel lighter now anyway sending love and please be kind.’
As a part of her healing and recovery, Helen has been focusing on exercise as well as tackling long-overdue tasks, such as de-cluttering her home.
She is also in a better place to co-parent with Scott, as she said that before she struggled to alone in her house so would go out to drink, but now she likes being at home and watching TV.
Helen opened up about her psychosis for the first in March after a break from social media as she explained she was ’emotionally struggling’ with her split from ex Scott Sinclair and the demands of being a working single mother
She wrote: ‘I was heartbroken as I’ve always been professional as an actress but I needed to stay at home and feel better for me and my kids, with the help of my amazing parents ❤️’
Helen also admitted her and Scott even found each other on a dating app recently and were able to laugh about it.
However while Helen has tried the app she isn’t putting any pressure on it but insists she still believes in finding the one.
The star has previously spoken about their co-parenting as she described it as ‘pretty drama-free’, insisting they have been doing everything they can to make things easier for the kids since their split.
She told The Sun: ‘I co-parent with Scott. We were together for a long time. So he lives with his mum in Bristol and I live in Manchester with the kids. I get on really well with Scott’s mum.
‘I was with Scott aged 19-31, so that’s why I get on so well with his mum. So honestly it makes my life so easy because we hang out together. It’s really nice. It’s pretty drama free as I get on really well with her.
‘The kids see their dad all the time, they see their nana a lot. We’re always in Birmingham a lot to meet with the kids half way.’
Anyone can contact Samaritans FREE any time from any phone on 116 123, visit samaritans.org for more information
Putting herself and her mental health first, Helen pulled out of playing Miss Scarlett in the theatre tour of Cluedo 2 as she wasn’t well enough to leave her family and commit to the show. She was replaced by Ellie Leach (pictured)
