Sean Ward has revealed he became addicted to drink, drugs and pornography after struggling to find acting work after his role in BBC Drama Our Girl.
The 30-year-old former Coronation Street actor admitted he hit rock bottom after being rejected from 50 auditions after filming of the army drama, which also starred Michelle Keegan, ended.
In the grip of addictions to booze, drugs and pornography his depression became so severe he thought he would be better off dead.
Read more: Former Corrie star Sean Ward admits he partly blames the soap for his addiction issues
He told The Mirror: “I nearly took my own life – I’d think about it every day. I did actually plan how I was going to do it, but I suppose I was too scared.”
Sean explained that his girlfriend found a letter he had penned alluding to his death and got his family involved to stage a life-saving intervention.
He revealed: “It wasn’t a suicide note but there were a few quotes in it that made her sit up and alarm bells were ringing.
“I had written that if people won’t celebrate me in life, then maybe they will in death.”
Read more: Former Corrie actor Sean Ward gives up booze and porn to beat depression
Sean, who has now been sober for three months, admitted he hit rock bottom as jobs dried up and his cash began to run low after being out of work for nine months.
He said: “I was a full-on recluse and didn’t want to leave the house. I was smoking so much dope. I spent thousands of pounds. I’ve probably paid for my dealer’s mortgage and I haven’t even paid for my own!”
He added he didn’t sleep for “six months” surviving on only “two hours a night” and would drink himself to sleep.
Read more: All the latest news on your favourite soaps on Entertainment Daily
Sean, who played drug dealer Callum Logan in the soap, has revealed that months of drinking resulted in alopecia, which he would cover with his mother’s mascara.
After his family’s intervention he was diagnosed with mild ADHD and prescribed with anti-depressants. However, he refused to take the medication and went “cold turkey” on his addictions instead.
As well as quitting social media Sean, who dated his Corrie co-star Georgia May Foote for eight months until their bitter break up in 2015, also split from his new partner in September “to be on his own” so he could work on his recovery.
Speaking on Loose Women, Sean said his depression stemmed from feeling lonely while spending seven months away filming Our Girl. He said: “I was away from my partner, my family, you get lonely you realise who your friends are.
“That’s when it all unravelled at that point.”
What do you think of Sean’s decision to speak out? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know what you think!