Richard Bacon opens up about ongoing struggle with alcohol
The former children’s TV presenter said he has gone through ‘dangerous’ periods of drinking.
Richard Bacon has said he believes he may still be addicted to drinking, and that alcohol has caused “chaos and difficulty and uncertainty” in his life.
The TV presenter, 43, said he has been through “dangerous” periods of drinking where he has gone missing for a night.
He told BBC Radio 5 Live’s Hooked podcast that while he does feel he has moved away from that type of behaviour, he continues to drink.
He said: “I am almost at my most vulnerable when things are great. I don’t use (drink) to numb pain. If I am excited or happy about something I am more likely to go too far.”
Bacon, who has children Arthur and Ivy with his wife Rebecca, also addressed how his drinking affected his marriage.
He said that “if I’m going to get hammered and do things I shouldn’t do and go missing” then it is “frightening” for his wife.
He added: “She would like me to do AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) all the time, and I just don’t. But I have said I will spend more time with our therapist examining my relationship to drink.
“We’re in a good place at the moment but once you have accepted you’re an addict to some degree the danger is always there, isn’t it?”
Bacon was sacked from children’s TV programme Blue Peter in 1998 after he admitted taking cocaine.
He said there was a link between his alcohol and cocaine use.
He said: “When I’ve been through periods of my life where I have been using cocaine, it’s only (after) two or three drinks where I quite fancy that as well.”
It comes after Bacon fell ill during a flight from Los Angeles to London in 2018 and was put in an induced coma as doctors fought to save his life.
The latest episode of Hooked, featuring Richard Bacon, is available on BBC Sounds.
