Sheridan Smith reveals she had five seizures and nearly died after Graham Norton 'humiliated' her at the BAFTAS with joke about her 'being a drunk'

• The actress, 39, revealed she was addicted to her anti-anxiety tablets and had a severe reaction to stopping them back in 2016 
• Sheridan was rushed to hospital and had to be helped to start breathing again after suffering seizures 
• The star decided to stop taking the medication because she felt 'humiliated' at the BAFTAs in 2016, after Graham Norton made a joke about her 'being drunk'
• She made the revelation in a documentary discussing her journey to motherhood and mental health 
• The star welcomed son  Billy in May who she shares with fiancé Jamie Horn, 30 
• ITV special Sheridan Smith: Becoming Mum is set to air on ITV on September 1 

Sheridan Smith has revealed she was rushed to hospital and had five seizures after she stopped taking anti-anxiety medication back in 2016 following a jibe Graham Norton made about her.

The actress, 39, made the revelation on the yet to air ITV special Sheridan Smith: Becoming Mum, and admitted she felt 'humiliated' after TV BAFTAs host Norton made a joke about her 'being drunk' during the ceremony.   

The West End star - who welcomed her first child in May - revealed she 'went off the deep end' after she was nominated for her performance in The C Word at the event.

Speaking on the programme she recalled the incident, as she said: 'Graham Norton was hosting and made a joke at my expense about me being a drunk...

'I was so humiliated. It's a room full of your peers, people you want to work with or have worked with. That night, for me, was like the final straw before my brain totally went off the deep end.' 

She added: 'What people didn't realise is that I'd become addicted to anti-anxiety tablets.

'That night I took myself off to a hotel on my own. In my crazy mind, I thought, 'I'll do it (stop taking the tablets) myself'.

'I went there and just stopped my tablets. Weirdly, a friend of mine had rung me and she came to the hotel.

'It's a miracle she did. It's like someone was looking out for me because what I didn't realise is that if you stop these tablets abruptly, you seizure.

'I seizured five times and got rushed to A&E and she's the one who got me breathing again.'

MailOnline has contacted Graham Norton's representatives for comment. 

However in the show she goes on to say how she felt 'calm' and 'contentment' after the birth of her first son Billy in May who she shares with fiancé Jamie Horn, 30.

The actress had an emergency caesarean when her baby arrived early this summer, while the country was in lockdown.

The documentary filmed the star during her pregnancy as she discussed her mental health struggles.

Cameras followed the star as she attended her first scans, pre-natal classes and sessions with a specialist therapist Dr Alain Gregoire, as well as at home with Jamie. 

She said she wants to help other women who worry about their mental health issues resurfacing in pregnancy.

'At the start of my pregnancy, I'd just got myself to a good place and I thought, 'Please don't let this be a turning point where things change for me. That was my biggest worry,' she said.

Sheridan stopped taking her medication while she was pregnant as she was 'constantly worried' about how it would affect Billy, but she went back on them after her doctor recommended she do so. 

She added that she feels a bond she had never experienced before becoming a mum.

'The day he smiled at me was more amazing and emotional even than the day he was born, because you suddenly think, 'Oh my god - you love me back!

'Suddenly all those sleepless nights and all that worry goes out the window. You look in those little eyes and the love you feel - it's like a connection I've never felt.'

Smith adds: 'Now I've got this little family and I just feel, I can't explain it, like a contentment, a calm.

'Maybe I was looking for something in the wrong places and now I feel like I've found it in this little boy when I look in his eyes.'

In an interview with Bella Magazine on Tuesday, Sheridan admitted that it 'never crossed her mind' to have a baby until she met Jamie.

'I love him so much. He's so brilliant. He's going to be a great dad. I just hope I'm a good mum,' she gushed. 'Jamie has been my rock through everything. It's really since I met Jamie that I started on my road to recovery.' 

Sheridan also went on to say the documentary deals with topics she's been too 'ashamed or embarrassed' to talk about in the past, even with friends and family. 

During the documentary, Jamie went on to detail how Sheridan 'beats herself up mentally until she's black and blue' over comments by cruel trolls.

Referring to the Pretty Woman red carpet in March, he said: 'After Pretty Woman, the stories all came out. They were fine. I didn’t read the comments. She did.

'Let’s say there’s a thousand comments, 950 will be nice, 45 will be neutral and then there’ll be five horrible ones. Nothing else will matter.

'It’s those five ones. And she will beat herself up until she’s mentally black and blue. It’s devastating to see.'

Sheridan has been incredibly open about her struggles with mental health following the death of her father Colin in 2016. 

Last year, she revealed she's gone teetotal after a string of public meltdowns in the wake of her father's death.

In 2018, Sheridan admitted she 'lost the plot and had a massive meltdown' when her anxiety 'snowballed' after her father's death.

Speaking on ITV documentary Sheridan Smith: Coming Home, she explained: 'I kind of lost the plot after that and had a massive meltdown. I ran away. 

'There's that kind of northern, "Keep calm and carry on" vibe - we're all like that. I feel I've come out the other side now.' 

Sheridan has 'always' struggled with anxiety, but previously admitted her battle 'snowballed' following Colin's death.

She said: 'I'd been performing anyway leading up to that, and I've always had a bit of anxiety, and so I was a little bit nervous but the catalyst of it all was my dad. 

'I want to say "It's OK not to be OK" because I didn't speak about it and then it snowballed and it came to this huge head.' 

Sheridan's grief caused her to cancel her appearance in the musical production Funny Girl, which she 'hated' having to do.

She explained: 'It was the worst thing, I hate it and I always think, "The show must go on" and I hate letting anyone down but I think the public understood in a way that you can't choose when these things happen.  

'It was a gradual build up when my dad got diagnosed and I just couldn't continue, I lost my mind, I completely did to the point where people were stopping me in the street and cuddling me because people understand that, it's just life. 

'Unfortunately you can't just take time off from a show, you get a lot of abuse so that's what happened.' 

The actress made the decision to quit alcohol as she ‘fell apart completely’ following years of offstage troubles. 

In a candid interview with The Telegraph's Stella magazine, the West End star explained: ‘I was supposed to be a celebrity but I couldn’t do it right. I drank pints and made rude jokes and was brilliant at saying the wrong thing.’

She added: ‘I was drunk, upset, emotional and angry and... Can you believe I, of all people, went and put it on Insta again.

‘How many times can I rant off on Insta and regret it and then do it again? I’m such a k***. 

Sheridan, who has struggled with depression for years, met fiance Jamie on mobile dating app Tinder in 2018, and he has proved to be her biggest champion.

On giving up the booze, she said: ‘You can’t do it without support but Jamie knows and I know I’m so much better for not drinking.’

Jamie is said to have brought Sheridan back to her best - with the actress admitting she is in a 'very happy place' again, following a number of mental health woes.

Discussing her relationship in 2018, she said: 'Where I'm at right now I feel like this is really good, I've got all that under control.

'I've got doctors' care, I'm feeling great, I got engaged, I'm in a very happy place (laughs) so I'm very happy and you know that's it. I couldn't ask for more really.' 

The couple announced the news of their son's birth in a social media post in May and Sheridan gushed she was 'overwhelmed with love' for the new arrival.

The star shared a first glimpse of the tot's tiny hand after his birth as she told fans: 'Our little man has arrived! We are both completely overwhelmed with love.' 

Sheridan first confirmed that she and partner Jamie were expecting in November, when she shared a snap of a baby blanket embroidered with the name: 'Baby Smith-Horn.'

A month earlier she also took to Twitter where she posted about preparing for her 'most important role to date'.

She wrote: 'Super excited for 2020, gonna finally get to work with a producer I admire hugely! But first, my most important role to date..' along with emojis of a pregnant woman and a woman cradling a newborn baby.   

Sheridan and Jamie got engaged in May 2018 just three months after meeting on dating app Tinder. 

Sheridan Smith: Becoming Mum airs on Tuesday September 1 at 9pm on ITV.