Darren Day relapsed after work was cancelled during lockdown

Darren Day performing on stage at HMV in Oxford Street (PA)
Darren Day relapsed during lockdown. (PA)

Darren Day has revealed he relapsed when the work he had lined up was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The actor and singer - who has been open about his battle with drug addiction and his mental health struggles in the past - said he relapsed at the start of lockdown and that it really “shook” him.

Speaking onThe Secret To podcast, he said: "I was a week away from Footloose, that was the musical I was going to be doing… me and Gareth Gates. We were one week away from rehearsals when everything was pulled.

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“And I kept it together for a couple of weeks, but I’m not going to lie... I relapsed at the beginning of the lockdown.

“It shook me so much that I got back into sobriety like I did at the beginning. I got into AA meetings, NA meetings on Zoom, and everything like that.”

Darren Day arrives at Edinburgh Sheriff Court for a preliminary hearing after he was charged with drink-driving.
Darren Day has been open about his substance abuse problems. (PA)

The 52-year-old, who is now sober again, said: “The biggest thing to come out of lockdown for me personally, which has to be more important than any of the career stuff, is that I'm now a month and a half away from being a year sober again.

"For me that’s the big one, because without sobriety my career’s gone, my family’s gone, my partner."

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He went on: "It’s ironic really that I should have got stuck into recovery like never before when there’s no work and f*** all to do every day.

"For an ex-addict, having f*** all to do and no structured day is a f****** disaster waiting to happen.

"But for some reason I’ve done it and it’s made me think that if I can do it under these circumstances, then I hope that I’ll be alright when things all go back to normal."

Day has appeared on television shows such as Hollyoaks and Doctors and has appeared in many stage productions.

In 2016, he was a contestant on Celebrity Big Brother.

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