I LOST Sheridan Smith opens heart
SHERIDAN Smith has spoken of her agony at losing her beloved father and admitted: “I lost my mind a bit.”
The actress, 36, has credited Colin with teaching her how to laugh and helping to keep her grounded.
She was devastated when he died last December, aged 80, following a battle with cancer.
And she admitted the blow of his diagnosis had made the anxiety and depression she kept at bay for years surface and take hold – resulting in a “meltdown”.
The star pulled out of West End show Funny Girl for several months as she struggled to cope.
Reflecting on her ordeal, she said: “Obviously I had a bad year last year with my dad passing away.
“Everyone can relate, because everyone has been through that type of thing. You can’t choose when it happens but you come out the other side stronger.”
Sheridan made a triumphant return to the spotlight last month with a performance on Strictly Come Dancing ahead of the release of her new album.
Cheeky
She is on ITV tonight for one-off special Sheridan, where she talks to comedian Alexander Armstrong about her life and career.
Sheridan also performs some of her favourite songs – and in a brave nod to her personal troubles, she includes Gnarls Barkley’s hit Crazy.
“I wanted it to be a little cheeky wink to my meltdown last year,” she said. “I can’t ignore it, you’ve probably read about it.
“But I just thought, I’ll give a little tongue-in-cheek wink to the fact that I lost my mind a bit. But I’m back!”
Pointing to a tattoo on her arm that reads Daddy’s Girl, Sheridan paid a touching tribute to Colin.
“He was amazing,” she said. “He was so funny. He was the one who taught me to laugh at myself and not take life too seriously.
“He was always keeping me grounded. He said I was ‘dragged up right’.”
Sheridan said she is now looking for a man who can make her laugh – just like her dad did.
Asked what qualities a suitor must have, she said: “Someone who will put up with me, because I’m a handful.
“And mainly someone who makes me laugh.
“My dad set the bar high with being so funny and I think it’s so impor- tant to just laugh, someone who is funny and can make me giggle.” Sheridan has been linked to LAbased model Graham Nation in recent months, after gushing about him on social media. But she has remained coy about their relationsh relationship, referring to herself a as single. The actress has had a glit glittering career, winni winning a Bafta, two Olivie Olivier awards and being awarded the OBE OBE. She won acclaim for playing Cilla Black in TV drama Cilla, based on the Surprise Surprise star’s life, and portraying a woman with terminal cancer in The C Word.
Workaholic
She also wowed the West End in Funny Girl and Legally Blonde.
But Sheridan said the hectic work schedule has a downside, as her job gets in the way of love.
“I’m such a disaster when it comes to relationships,” she admitted.
“I am a workaholic, I am an