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Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Heston Blumenthal reveals impact of being sectioned in BBC bipolar documentary
Heston Blumenthal has spoken of his struggles with mania and the impact it had on the people he loves, 18 months after he was sectioned. The 59-year-old chef, known for his Channel 4 shows Heston's Fantastical Food and Heston's Feasts, was hospitalised in November 2023 following a severe manic episode. He was subsequently diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Now, Blumenthal is sharing his story in BBC documentary Heston: My Life with Bipolar, airing 19 June on BBC Two at 8pm. Filmed over six months, Blumenthal reflects on how bipolar disorder has shaped both his personal life and professional success. Blumenthal was sectioned after he showed his wife, French businesswoman Melanie Ceysson, a drawing of a gun he'd hallucinated. Fearing he was a danger to himself, Ceysson contacted the mayor of their village in France for urgent help. Soon after, police, firefighters and a doctor arrived. Blumenthal was sedated and spent two weeks in a psychiatric hospital, followed by six weeks of intensive treatment at a specialist clinic. "It was a dark period," he recalled. "The psychiatrist diagnosed me as bipolar; it was a surprise. I started looking back more and more to my life pre being sectioned, and how come it's taken me until 57 years of life to discover I have bipolar." The intervention followed months of increasingly erratic behaviour. Now stabilised on medication, Blumenthal says those manic phases are behind him. "When I first came out of the hospital in the beginning, it felt like I was slightly zombie-fied from the medication. I've changed a lot, in the sense of my massive highs and lows have been ironed out. I'm much calmer, I don't have those manic phases," he explained. "Would I have sectioned myself? No way [but] she had to do it for me and for herself as well. Looking back at it, the alternative was not an option because I wouldn't be here anymore." Bipolar disorder involves extreme mood swings, which Blumenthal says often fuelled his work. At times, his productivity felt "unstoppable". "The depression [gave] way to what I now recognise as periods of mania … with hindsight, when I was in a manic state, there were so many ideas," the chef, best known for his experimental dishes including snail porridge and bacon and egg ice cream, shared. He added: "I had these feelings of grandiosity or like Superman. I believed that I could change the world." It was during those periods that he developed some of his most daring and unconventional culinary ideas. But by 2020, the mood swings were becoming more frequent – and more severe. During the height of his career, the chef said he became "a hamster on a wheel," and self-medicated with cocaine. He explained: "I didn't realise I was self-medicating at the time ... The more time goes on since I've come out of the hospital, the more I can see how extreme those [manic episodes] were." Also in the documentary, Blumenthal revisits some of his past television appearances, offering a stark glimpse into his mental state at the time. Watching a 2019 episode of the cooking show Crazy Delicious, he recalled being in a "dark place." "I was probably quite overly depressed then," he said. "I thought, 'I wondered if there was a gun here, would I use it?' There wasn't, and then I thought of other ways of ending it and decided at the end that I wasn't ready for that." In sharp contrast, he also rewatched a 2020 BBC interview where he discussed using robots in the kitchen, speaking rapidly and using surreal metaphors throughout. The clip was difficult for him to watch. "To live with me, if I was talking like that all the time, that brings tears to my eyes, of the thought of what they had to put up with," he said. "The potential that I might have upset, troubled, worried, emotionally harmed the people that love me and that I love." The chef is a father of four: Jack, 32, Jessie, 30, and Joy, 28, from his first marriage to ex-wife Zanna; and Shea-Rose, eight, with his former partner, Stephanie Gouevia. In the documentary, he sits down with his son Jack to discuss what life was like before his bipolar diagnosis. "We just wanted a relaxing conversation with our dad, and we weren't able to have one. It was horrible and it was constant,' Jack recalled. "We'd plan it three weeks in advance, getting prepared just to see you for half an hour. And there was nothing I could do to help you." Heston wiped away a tear and apologised to his son. Jack, in turn, acknowledged that he now understands his father's behaviour was the result of an undiagnosed mental health condition. Blumenthal now serves as an official ambassador for Bipolar UK, a charity that estimates around 1.3 million adults in the UK live with the condition. In the documentary, he raises concerns about the lack of adequate support and resources for people living with bipolar disorder. At one point, he meets a mother whose daughter, Rebecca, died by suicide. "I was lucky in that with my sectioning, I was being monitored and afterwards I had support," he explained. "But with the nature of this condition, if there isn't the care, the support network around individuals with bipolar, then people like Rebecca will take their lives. The longer it takes to get this sorted out, the more lives will be lost." Blumenthal also admitted that he initially worried medication might dull his imagination or take away his creativity, fears that, he now says, were unfounded. He concluded: "I still have bipolar, and I had bipolar before, I just don't have those manic states. The peaks and my manic highs have shrunk and the depths of the lows have risen, but I'm still Heston." Read more about Heston Blumenthal: Heston Blumenthal's wife 'saved his life' by having him sectioned for bipolar disorder (Yahoo Life UK, 4-min read) Mood swings fuelled Heston Blumenthal's genius. But the highs got higher and the lows got darker (BBC News, 5-min read) Heston Blumenthal's 'unfiltered' story after life-changing diagnosis (Yorkshire Live, 2-min read)
Irish Times
16 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Heston: My Life with Bipolar: Gripping account of celebrity chef's journey from denial to diagnosis
In the UK , it is estimated that some 1.3 million people have bipolar disorder – more than have dementia. The statistics are presumably much the same in Ireland and yet the condition remains taboo and largely undiscussed. For that reason, it never occurred to celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal that he might have the disorder when he began to experience manic episodes several years ago. While he suspected he was neurodivergent, the word 'bipolar' never crossed his mind. How little he knew, he says in the gripping and gruelling Heston: My Life with Bipolar (BBC Two, Thursday 8pm) – until the episodes became severe, and in late 2023, he hallucinated that he had a gun. This was in France, where he lives with his wife, the French entrepreneur Melanie Ceysson. 'I was trying to fight my way out of it. Two people held my arms down,' he says. 'I was struggling a lot. Then I saw the doctor pull out this whacking great syringe.' Eighteen months later, Blumenthal is on a heavy regime of medication that has led to weight gain and resulted in his speech slowing down to a meditative not-quite-slur. He hasn't had any more of the extreme shifts in mood and energy that are a signature of bipolar disorder. And yet there this isn't quite a happy story with a happy ending. One of the themes of this fascinating and admirably honest film is his fear that the drugs that have stabilised his mind may have snuffed out the creativity that drove him in his early career. As foodies will know, Blumenthal was at the cutting edge of the cutting edge as proprietor of the Fat Duck restaurant in Bray (a village in Berkshire rather than the Irish seaside town, as I was disappointed to discover after many years of assuming Wicklow was at the white-hot frontline of gastronomic innovation). Snail porridge, bacon and egg ice cream – he was the master of the non sequitur menu. READ MORE Blumenthal had long suspected his brain was different. He compares the zing of inspiration to a drizzle of sweets pitter-pattering down on his head. In 2023, the downpour became a deluge, and he was overwhelmed. Looking back, it is obvious he was hurtling towards a crash. However, he had been too blinded by success to recognise the danger signs. 'I ended up becoming a hamster on a wheel. I self-medicated with cocaine. I didn't realise I was self-medicating at the time. I was absolutely self-medicating. I knew I had a busy head. I didn't know if it was more busy than other people's heads,' he says. 'I looked up if I was autistic. I didn't even think about bipolar.' In one painful scene, he is shown a TV interview he gave shortly before his breakdown. The journalist says hello, and Blumenthal, dialling in over Zoom, embarks on a 10-minute stream-of-consciousness monologue. It's as if every nerve ending in his brain is firing at once, and it's all coming straight out of his mouth. 'I want to put the inside-out back into the outside-in. I want to put the being back into the human,' he says. The interviewer smiles nervously. 'He's asked me one question,' says Blumenthal today. ''How are you? That's it.' A more self-involved celebrity would make it all about themselves. To his credit, Blumenthal moves on from his own struggles to address the failure of the British health service to meet the needs of those who are bipolar. He calls on the mother of Rebecca McLellan, a paramedic from Ipswich who died by suicide after being denied the medical care she required. In another moving scene, Blumenthal meets his son Jack, who talks about how difficult it was to be around his father. 'We'd plan it three weeks in advance, getting prepared just to see you for half an hour,' says Jack, who now runs his own restaurant. 'And there was nothing I could do to help you.' Blumenthal's face crumples, and he struggles to hold back tears. 'I'm sorry,' he says. It is one of many hugely emotive sequences in a documentary that bravely traces the chef's journey from denial to diagnosis. Its most significant achievement is that, just a few minutes in, the viewers begins to see Blumenthal not as a famous foodie in fancy spectacles – but a vulnerable individual who desperately needs support.
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Heston Blumenthal breaks down in tears and issues poignant apology as son reveals the devastating impact of his bipolar battle on family
Heston Blumenthal broke down in tears and apologised as his son revealed the devastating impact of his bipolar battle on their family. The popular TV chef, 59, is well known for presenting Channel 4 shows Heston's Fantastical Food and Heston's Feasts. Heston was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in November 2023 after he began experiencing hallucinations, mania and even suicidal thoughts. Bipolar disorder is a brain disorder which causes unusual and often sudden changes in mood and energy levels. The English chef and restaurateur's new BBC show, Heston: My Life With Bipolar, is set to hit screens on Thursday evening at 8pm and follows Heston as he explores the impact the condition has had on his life. Heston previously told how his wife French entrepreneur Melanie Ceysson, 36, made the brave choice to have him sectioned - which he has since said 'saved my life'. During the programme, Heston sits down with his son, Jack, 32, and the pair discuss the impact bipolar had on the chef's relationship with his children. Jack admitted the family 'found it difficult' but that it felt positive to know what caused the issues now Heston has been diagnosed. 'We just wanted a relaxing conversation with our dad, and we weren't allowed to have one,' Jack said. Heston interjected: 'Because I just didn't stop talking...' His son agreed and added: 'You didn't want to know anyone's thoughts, I just don't think you gave a s**t.' Jack confessed the condition made it difficult to speak and interact with his father. He explained: 'It always started off really well for a few minutes and then it just turned... I had to walk away sometimes, I had to go 'we're not doing it' and every time we tried to hype ourselves up to come and see you.' 'I'm so sorry,' Heston said, as he looked emotional. Jack revealed the amount of preparation it would take to meet with his dad in the past. 'We'd plan it three weeks in advance, mentally just getting prepared just to see you for half an hour. It was horrible and it was constant,' he described. Heston teared up and tenderly took his son's hand. 'Talking about this, this happened,' the TV star said, pointing to his tearful eyes. 'And I realise it's not me being bipolar, well it is me being bipolar, it's damaging the people I love, the people around me. So I'm sorry.' His son replied: 'I know, and I don't think you have to say that, because we know you were kind of in a bit of a world of your own at certain points and this conversation needed to be had, didn't it?' 'I just want you to know that I love you, I forgive you for everything and I'm really proud to me your son,' Jack added. The chef emotionally apologised again and said: 'I want to thank you, thank you for this. I want you to know how sincerely sorry I am. I love you, I love you, my children so much and I can see it now.' The pair then shared a hug. The documentary also looks into the state of healthcare for those with bipolar in the UK, with Heston talking to others who also have the condition about their experiences. He said: 'I was living with undiagnosed bipolar for many years, so it's been an extraordinary journey to get where I am today. 'There is still a big stigma around bipolar, but it is vital to be able to talk openly about the condition. 'I know this isn't always easy, but I hope by sharing my experience in this documentary people will gain a greater understanding of bipolar and an insight into my life now.' Heston, who has an impressive seven Michelin stars, became an ambassador for Bipolar UK in February. The charity describes the mental health condition as an episodic disorder characterised by potentially extreme changes in energy and mood. It carries the highest suicide risk of any mental health condition. Bipolar UK estimates more than one million adults in Britain have the disorder - which is 30 per cent more than the number of people with dementia. But it is thought some 56 per cent of those living with bipolar in the UK do not have a diagnosis. It comes after a heart-wrenching tell-all interview Heston gave to This Morning in March, recounting his suicidal thoughts and how he hallucinated about guns. The chef spoke about his mental health struggles to presenters Cat Deeley, 48, and Ben Shepherd, 50, to mark bipolar awareness month. He is keen to raise awareness about the condition, explaining the figures about the high number of people living with it in the UK - along with the significant proportion of those who are undiagnosed. The food critic explained before his diagnosis, he had stepped away from cooking and had a bit more time on his hands, which meant manic episodes became more prevalent. Heston said on the ITV show: 'In the darker moments, there was suicidal thoughts... 'I realised afterwards, it's quite a classic symptom of being in a mania stage you can hallucinate sound, smell, touch. I saw a gun on the table. 'I told my wife, which obviously, for me, it all seemed quite normal. I looked back at it, there was nothing normal about it.' Heston wants to break the stigma surrounding the disorder and confessed that he had 'no idea' he had it. He explained: 'It was about 13/14 months ago when I was sectioned. 'I got the diagnosis. I had no idea. I was diagnosed with ADHD in 2017, so there is quite a big cross over with ADHD and Bipolar. There are similar symptoms. 'I really didn't think about it until having sort of manic highs and dropping to these lows. 'When you're on these manic highs, you get this sense of I don't know, you think I'm superman, everything is beautiful. 'Then something happens, it's a bit like an an overreactive child that's really having a great time, then someone moves something and then they have a mini tantrum. 'Then you can go into these sort of darker moments.' Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a behavioural condition defined by inattentiveness, hyperactivity and impulsiveness. The restaurant owner also praised his wife Melanie for having him sectioned: 'It was the best thing that could have happened to me.' Cat said: 'That is very brave of her.' 'She didn't know if I'd blame her so much, that there was resentment build it,' he continued, 'But it saved my life.' After two months of hospitalisation he was put on medication 'that is continually being tweaked'. Heston said: 'I can look back and think blimey, those highs and lows, now I am definitely in the process of stabilising.' If you have been affected by this story, contact Mind on 0300 123 3393 Heston: My Life With Bipolar airs on BBC Two on June 19 at 8pm and is available to stream on BBC iPlayer. WHAT IS BIPOLAR? Bipolar disorder is a brain disorder which causes unusual and often sudden changes in mood and energy levels. WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS? Moods of those with bipolar disorder range from periods of extreme elation and energy (known as a manic episode) to periods of extreme somberness and lack of energy (known as a depressive episode). HOW IS IT DIAGNOSED? According to the International Bipolar Foundation, sufferers are diagnosed with rapid cycling if they have four or more manic, hypomanic, or depressive episodes in any 12-month period. This severe form of the condition occurs in around 10 to 20 percent of all people with bipolar disorder. WHAT CAUSES IT? Currently it is unknown what is the cause of bipolar disorder, which affects around 5.7 million US adults aged 18 or older.
Daily Mail
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Heston Blumenthal reveals he 'thought about different ways of ending his life'
Heston Blumenthal has revealed he 'had thought about different ways of ending [his life]' before eventually receiving treatment for bipolar disorder. The London-born celebrity chef, 59, who holds a total of seven Michelin stars across his restaurants, was diagnosed with type 1 bipolar after being sectioned - on the insistence of his wife, French entrepreneur Melanie Ceysson - in November 2023. Bipolar disorder is a brain disorder which causes unusual and often sudden changes in mood and energy levels. He spent two weeks heavily medicated in a psychiatric hospital and a further six weeks in a clinic, where he continued with intensive treatment and practised walking meditation. Yet, four years previously, he had already hit rock bottom and was contemplating the method he would use to take his own life. Looking back to filming the cookery show Crazy Delicious in 2019, Heston told The Times: 'I remember lying on the sofa the night before I was due to go to do the show - I didn't want to do it, because of the condition I was in - and I had thought about different ways of finishing [my life]. 'I went through a list: knife? No, can't do that. Gun? Don't have one. Rope? I don't think I could do that; wouldn't know how. It would probably slip off or whatever. 'And there was no train station anywhere near to jump in front of a train.' The father-of-three, whose first eatery, The Fat Duck, was named the best restaurant in the world in 2005, added that he didn't perceive that he was in a depressive state - even when he 'was talking about suicide or death'. He told the publication: 'I must have been in a mixed state [a period of rapid highs and lows], because I was excited about planning my funeral, planning my wake. What music I wanted, who I wanted there - I got quite excited about that.' The chef spoke to The Times ahead of the release of a new BBC documentary titled Heston: My Life with Bipolar, which will air on June 19. In the interview, Heston, who lives in Provence in southeastern France with his second wife Melanie, addressed his past, present and future. Reflecting on the diagnosis he received in November 2023 after being sectioned by police officers and a doctor who turned up at his home, he said: 'I don't have bipolar; I am bipolar. 'It was always there, and for whatever reason - possibly Covid isolation; I was on my own a lot - it escalated.' Had he not been sectioned at the insistence of Melanie, 38, at this time, the chef would have lived for only a few more days. In the years prior to his hospitalisation, Heston, who was diagnosed with ADHD in 2017, experienced depressive states and hypomania, a less serious version of mania which can nevertheless drive risk-taking and impulsivity. During this time, he was sleeping as little as 20 hours a week - and was using cocaine, unusually, to help him get to sleep. By contrast, he would work a 120-hour week, fuelled by flashes of creativity brought on by the hypomania. Today, Heston remains on medication and told how his depression is still a problem for him, though he blames external factors such as a family court case and the financial losses that his restaurants have been subject to. Next week's documentary will look into the state of healthcare for those with bipolar in the UK, with Heston talking to others who also have the condition about their experiences. In May, when the project was announced, he said: 'I was living with undiagnosed bipolar for many years, so it's been an extraordinary journey to get where I am today. 'There is still a big stigma around bipolar, but it is vital to be able to talk openly about the condition. 'I know this isn't always easy, but I hope by sharing my experience in this documentary people will gain a greater understanding of bipolar and an insight into my life now.' Heston, who has an impressive seven Michelin stars, became an ambassador for Bipolar UK in February. The charity describes the mental health condition as an episodic disorder characterised by potentially extreme changes in energy and mood. It carries the highest suicide risk of any mental health condition. Bipolar UK estimates more than one million adults in Britain have the disorder - which is 30 per cent more than the number of people with dementia. But it is thought some 56 per cent of those living with bipolar in the UK do not have a diagnosis. Mike Radford, executive producer of the upcoming documentary, said: 'This is the first time Heston has given his account of what happened for a documentary. 'We're grateful to Heston for giving such a raw and unfiltered view of his life with this condition, which we know impacts the lives of so many people.' The film, recorded over the course of six months, will see Heston and his loved ones about how his undiagnosed bipolar disorder affected them. He will also speak about how he has since managed undergoing long-term treatment for it - which he has previously said has impacted his energy and creativity. The chef, known for experimental creations like snail porridge and bacon and egg ice cream, told Newsnight in February medication initially left him 'zombified', with 'no energy at all'. He said: 'As my medications have been changed and my levels of self-confidence and self-awareness have gone up I realise my imagination and creativity is still there. 'It was at levels that were so extreme before... looking back I can remember during my manic highs I was interrupting myself with ideas.' The documentary will track his journey towards recovery and returning to work, to run his Michelin-starred restaurants The Fat Duck in Bray, Berkshire, and Dinner, in London, and pub The Hind's Head, also in Bray.
Telegraph
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Heston Blumenthal: I planned my own death before being sectioned
Heston Blumenthal has admitted he was 'planning his own death' in the weeks before he was sectioned. The 59-year-old celebrity chef opened up about the manic episode he experienced before he was sent to a psychiatric ward in November 2023. He said he hallucinated a gun on the table, heard voices, and was planning out his death. Blumenthal said some nine people arrived at his house in Provence, France, to take him away as he explained how he was 'pinned down' by authorities. The renowned restaurateur – who spent 20 days in a ward – told the I'm ADHD! No You're Not podcast of the symptoms he experienced before he was sectioned. He said: 'I was hallucinating objects so I hallucinated a gun on the table, and drew it. 'I was talking about planning my death, I was hallucinating sounds, so thinking someone's talking over there ... I hallucinated touch.' Blumenthal was sectioned in November 2023 after his wife Melanie Ceysson called the authorities. The chef described the moment they arrived at his house to take him away. He said: 'I was here in the house, I was alone... There was a knock on the door, and there was a policeman. 'I thought that was a bit weird, because in the garden, you've got to jump over a wall to get in here. 'Anyway, I opened the door, he came in, and he was all sort of, you know, armour-plated up, and he seemed like a really nice bloke ... I didn't think what on earth was happening.' Blumenthal continued: 'Then there's another knock, the door opens, another policeman comes in, he's got a torch on his shoulder ... then there's another knock on the door, and there's a doctor with some kind of assistant, and five firemen. 'So there were nine people there, and they said, 'Oh, we're going to give you an injection or something, and take you to hospital'... I get pinned down on the sofa, my arms are crossed ... and I had two people on each arm, and then I was fighting. 'And then I saw the doctor pull out this massive syringe, and I thought, just go with it, and then I got injected. 'Next thing I wake up in a room, which was basically a cell, with a big grey plastic mattress, I've been undressed, and I got some kind of, I don't know, some pyjama prison outfit on me.'
