Kerry Katona says 2008 'This Morning' interview left her feeling 'suicidal'
Kerry Katona has said her infamous 2008 This Morning interview left her feeling “suicidal”.
The star slurred her words as she chatted to presenters Phillip Schofield and Fern Britton on the ITV show, sparking claims she was intoxicated. However, she was actually slurring because her speech had been affected by medication she was taking for bipolar disorder.
The incident led to her being called names such as "Merry Kerry" by the press and Katona has now said the fallout left her wanting to take her own life.
Read more: Kerry Katona says failed marriages left her with 'massive anxiety'
Speaking on the Marnie’s Home Truths podcast, she said: "Never once did they say to me, ‘Oh, oh right - what’s bipolar and what’s the medication you’re taking?’ I didn’t get any of that.
"Next day, front page of the papers - ‘Sherry Kerry’, ‘Merry Kerry’. It was just awful.
“I was suicidal. I wanted to die, I wanted to kill myself. It was everywhere."
Katona said she had "no reason to lie" about whether she had been using drugs or drinking.
"That was pure bipolar medication," she said. "Coke doesn’t make you slur. I was never a really big drinker if I’m brutally honest. It was always the drugs for me.
"I’ve got no reason to lie that that wasn’t drugs – if it was, why would I say it wasn’t? It was pure bipolar medication.”
The former Atomic Kitten singer was diagnosed with the illness in 2005 but said she was advised not to speak about it publicly because people wouldn’t understand it.
She said: “So if I was on This Morning slurring, and I was in a wheelchair, for instance, if I’m in a wheelchair slurring and I’ve got three degree burns on my face, you can physically see there’s something wrong with me.
"And then you’d be like, ‘Oh, God love her. Oh, bless her!’
"But because I’m on medication, and this is mental health, no-one can see it. And they are like, ‘Oh, she’s off her f****** head’."
Katona said the fallout from the incident has stayed with her over the years.
Read more: Kerry Katona 'struggling' with mental health amid house move
But she said there is no bad blood between her and Schofield.
"I mean I get on great with Phillip now, and he’s been absolutely lovely,” she said.
"I think we’ve all learnt a lot with regards to mental health. A hell of a lot.
"But even up until last year, that interview stuck with me."
For confidential emotional support at times of distress, contact The Samaritans at any time by calling 116 123 or emailing jo@samaritans.org.
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