I was in a physical and mental breakdown ... a scary place to be
Soap fave speaks out to help others
ACTRESS Helen Flanagan has bravely opened up about the devastating breakdown that she feared would rob her of everything she holds dear.
The former Coronation Street favourite, 33, faced an emotional struggle after splitting from footballer fiancé Scott Sinclair after 13 years together and spiralled into a “very scary” psychotic episode.
Her nightmare began after what looked like a dream New Year’s break in Bali with their children Matilda, eight, Delilah, five, and Charlie, three. Behind the stream of smiley photos she posted, Helen admits she was in turmoil.
She said: “My kids weren’t with me on Christmas Day because I like to be really fair with my ex, and it sounds so silly because it was only one day, but it hit me really hard.
“The plan was for me to take them to Bali for New Year instead, and although I enjoyed it, I didn’t feel myself. I was struggling. I felt terrible when I got back. I was crying all the time, I felt so low.”
Helen, who was in I’m A Celebrity in 2012, looked the picture of happiness as she posed with her kids in a Merseyside coast shoot but became emotional as we spoke.
She said she now realises she was carrying unresolved trauma over the 2022 split with Scott, 35.
SURVIVAL
Speaking out ahead of Mental Health Awareness Week, Helen said: “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.”
Struggling to feel “normal”, she started medicating her ADHD but suffered an “awful reaction” to her prescription and went into a psychotic episode. Tearful Helen said: “It was really sad and very scary. I was seeing things and I felt like I was in danger all the time.”
The hardest part was not realising what was happening at the time. Her nanny contacted her parents, Julia and Paul, to alert them that something was wrong and Helen agreed for her kids to stay with them while she got help.
Helen said: “I wanted to do what was best for the kids and that was the right decision. I saw them every day because it was important for them to see me getting stronger.”
She had to pull out of playing Miss Scarlett in the theatre tour of Cluedo 2, as it called for months on the road.
Helen said: “I was having a breakdown, I couldn’t have travelled alone. I needed my friends and family, and to be there for my kids.”
A true professional, Helen joined Corrie as Rosie Webster aged nine and was in more than 1,000 episodes until 2018. She said of Cluedo 2: “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 has since seen the show and said her replacement, Corrie co-star and Strictly contestant Ellie Leach, 23, was brilliant.
As a part of her healing and recovery, Helen has rediscovered her love of exercise. She also found tackling long-overdue tasks, such as de-cluttering her home, has cleared her mind and helped tackle the trauma.
She said: “I love work but my kids need me at home more. Having that time off was healthy, it changed my life in a way.”
Helen’s healing work has also aided her co-parenting relationship with Bristol Rovers player Scott. When they broke up and the children were staying with him, Helen would escape her empty house by going to London to drink.
But she said: “Now I really love it. I stay at home, watch TV or do pilates, go for a run or a swim.”
She has always appreciated “two happy homes are better than one unhappy home” and she and Scott are in a “better place than ever”.
Helen said: “I don’t want to live with toxic feelings, I want to get on with the father of my kids and he’s the same. When we found each other on a dating app we had a laugh about it, which shows how far we’ve come.” Asked how the app worked out for her, she said: “I went