Christopher Eccleston describes his struggles with an eating disorder as ‘imprisoning’ and admits the ‘shame’ of not talking about it was ‘debilitating’

• If you have been affected by this story, you can call the Samaritans on 116 123 or visit www.samaritans.org 

Christopher Eccleston has described his struggles with an eating disorder as ‘imprisoning’ as he opened up about his mental health.

The actor, 59, revealed his decades battling anorexia for the first time in his autobiography I Love the Bones of You, which was released in 2019.

Now, Christopher has shared that he was still quite unwell when he penned his autobiography and said he regrets being so hard on himself in the memoir.

He said it has taken him until this year to ‘put that behind’ him and said he was still ‘in recovery’ at the time as he reflected back on feeling ‘imprisoned’ due to his anorexia.

Christopher told The Guardian: ‘I am happy and excited about life, certainly there was a lot of life-denying before.

Honest: Christopher Eccleston has described his struggles with an eating disorder as ‘imprisoning’ as he opened up about his mental health

Speaking out: The star told how the shame of staying silent about his eating disorder was ‘debilitating’ as he discussed how openly speaking about it has helped him

‘The eating disorder was imprisoning, being in an industry and feeling like you shouldn’t be in it was imprisoning. I don’t want anybody feeling sorry for me, but it felt quite solitary.’

The Doctor Who star told how the shame of staying silent about his eating disorder was ‘debilitating’ as he discussed how openly speaking about it has helped him.

‘I realised the shame was more debilitating, especially being male,’ he added as he touched on the stigma around mental health in men.

Christopher also spoke about his ‘breakdown’ in 2016, which came after his marriage to his wife Mischka collapsed, and told how the experience ‘humanised’ him.

He said the experience of going through a breakdown and recovering from it gave him more self-respect and enabled him to be more empathic to other people. 

Christopher told how he still has to be ‘a little bit’ aware of his eating disorder but now eats normally and exercises regularly, which helps his mental health.

Christopher has previously spoken about how he was unwell during his one-series-long stint playing The Doctor back in 2005 due to his eating disorder.

Writing in his book I Love The Bones Of You, he said: ‘Many times I’ve wanted to reveal that I’m a lifelong anorexic and dysmorphic. 

Mental health: The actor (pictured in 2015), 59, first revealed his decades battling anorexia for the first time in his autobiography I Love the Bones of You, which was released in 2019

Looking back: Christopher has previously spoken about how he was unwell during his one-series-long stint playing The Doctor back in 2005 due to his eating disorder

‘I never have. I always thought of it as a filthy secret, because I’m Northern, because I’m male and because I’m working-class.’

The father-of-two revealed his anorexia was prevalent during his spell on the BBC drama, adding: ‘The illness is still there raging within me as the Doctor.

‘People love the way I look in that series, but I was very ill. The reward for that illness was the part. And therein lies the perpetuation of the whole sorry situation.’

If you have been affected by this story, you can call the Samaritans on 116 123 or visit www.samaritans.org.

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