Alastair Campbell Cracking Up On BBC Two
In 1986, Alastair Campbell “cracked up”. His breakdown was the culmination of months of intensive stress at work, too much alcohol and myriad other complex issues. Twenty two years later, the former Downing Street Director of Communications embarks on a personal journey, exploring his breakdown and subsequent recovery in this special, one-off programme for BBC Two.
Cracking Up is one of a series of BBC Learning documentaries, commissioned as part of the Headroom initiative, to help people look after their mental well-being. Mental-health issues affect a huge number of people, yet it’s a subject that remains taboo. In an attempt to try to de-stigmatise depression and other mental-health problems, Alastair speaks openly about his depression and breakdown. He tells the story of this life-changing event, retracing the people, places and landmarks of his breakdown, and also meeting people who have had similar experiences.
As part of his revelatory and sometimes painful journey, Alastair speaks to those who helped him during and after his breakdown, including Patricia Hewitt MP, his GP, and the doctor who cared for him on the night he found himself in a Glasgow hospital room. The programme also includes a candid interview with Alastair’s partner, Fiona Millar.
With the support of his family and doctors, Alastair recovered, though he continues to suffer from periods of depression. He now looks back on his breakdown in a positive light. He feels that it helped him to sort out his priorities and is convinced that, without it, he would not have been able to fulfil his decade-long role in Tony Blair’s Government.
Sunday 12 October
10.00-11.00pm BBC TWO
Chat about this on the Unreality TV Forum »
Christ almighty…didn’t know that about him!!! missed some of it…..but presume that he had the ’sectioned/ crazy/ psycho man’ whacked on him? Also presume that he must have friends in high places even back then….how else could he have gone on to become involved in the mass murder of children/ torture, never mind the rest???!!!????
Anybody got his contact details? Email? Wouldn’t usually risk contacting people like that but I also have a story to tell……..and i wannna rant at the bugger!!!! G-men don’t scare me!!!!!
Christ almighty…didn’t know that about him!!! missed some of it…..but presume that he had the ’sectioned/ crazy/ psycho man’ label whacked on him? Also presume that he must have friends in high places even back then….how else could he have gone on to become involved in the mass murder of children/ torture, never mind the rest???!!!????
Anybody got his contact details? Email? Wouldn’t usually risk contacting people like that but I also have a story to tell……..and i wannna rant at the bugger!!!! G-men don’t scare me!!!!!
Please help – so often I send emails to programmes and there is no response. I hope sincerely that you will forward this email to Alistair Campbell.
I watched Alistair Cambell’s programme and was so impressed with his candour and bravery. I could sense from his tone and expression and body language that it was a very difficult programme for him to make [reliving the past]. Like Stephen Fry’s programme last year it can only help the public to understand more fully mental problems and perhaps for industry to be more sympathetic to those who suffer from mental illness.
His experiences were almost a perfect fit to the mental breakdowns I had in 1984 and 1985 at the age of 37. Like Alistair, it has eventually turned out to be the most instructive experience of my life and made me the person I am today [but also it was terrifying at the time – in fact for 5 years prior and one after,until I found the right medication.
To help me through I also wrote copious notes and eventually put into a book. Much of the content is both amusing and depressing at the same time!
I feel that the experiences of people who have come through a severe depression and have had long term gain can provide help and hope for people with depression. I would value you sending this email to Alistair. I believe that he has the skills as a journalist to liaise with several people like myself, to write an article or a book or TV programme which celebrates the benefits that many sufferers of depression can eventually gain – in fact to finally reach their potential. Such an article could help those current sufferers believe that there is a future and may also have some influence on changing company’s viewpoint on mental depression – I had to hide my problems for years because my career with a multinational would have been over before it had began.
John Chambers
Good Morning
I am trying to come to terms with the programme I watched concerning Alistair.
I have been to rehab with Bupa and explored my dilemmas…I have been told that i should accept that I am an alcoholic and that is the be end and all of my problems..I have abstained from alcohol and reaped the rewards in the short term…perhaps that is why hey have the logo…keep coming back..keep coming back?…however I still cannot avoid the depression of thinkig where am I now and how did I get there?…many people would ridicule George Best thinking he enjoyed what he did (apart from football)..many people ridiculed Alex Higgins, Brian Clough and Jim Davidson…not many ridicule Winston Churchill..Billy Conolly or even Anne the Wink …I’m not sure whar Jimmy Greaves is up to now but maybee creativity comes with it’s price nb Gazza and WR…Well I think Winston proved that creativity can certainly arrive despite the price…as for John Chambers..alcohol like power is a drug…just like prozac and St Johns Wart…excercise is the best way …to heve one’s body produce the drug for you..and by the way…those who allow themselves to be in contact to diverse bacteria have a better immune system!
Alex
pps I will be sober in the morning but you may still be ugly.
Good, honest programme making. More please… I’m glad that there are at least some sympathetic comments on here. I don’t believe the topic of depression should be a springboard for political views no matter who the subject is (incidentally I marched against Iraq but that’s hardly the point). He is a human being who is opening up about something which affects a great many people in the modern age. Depression should not be taboo in the 21st century and I relate to him on a purely sympathetic level. My own depression was so bad at one point that I once found myself alone and weeping in my kitchen for no reason at all clutching a cornish pasty (which was the only food I had in the house!) Yes it was rediculous but it was also terrifying at the time and no amount of explanation can properly get across why – it just happens to some people. Programmes like this will help others gain at least some level of understanding.
Incidentally that was now years ago and I am not only over it (mainly through exercise and meditation), like Alastair, I also consider that period of my life as ultimately a positive experience.
As a doctor working in the secondary care sector, in a general hospital with back pain patients, in my clinic I come across patients who suffer from depression but are not detected despite their previous frequent visits to many similar professionals. I believe the care could be transformed to meet the needs of depressed patients sooner and effectively. It is not only good medical care but costs lot less.
I have discussed my ideas on improving care and conducted research and audits over the last 8 years. Unfortunately, for a busy hospital consultant performing research is very difficult when funds are not available and busy schedule does not leave time for such applications.
I believe depression with chronic medical conditions can be managed better and those who receive such care improve. Besides the improvement can be measured by a generic quality of life questionnaire to demonstrate the benefit. Can this message be passed to Mr Alistair Campbell so that an opportunity to discuss may arise. To start making changes help from the top is essential.
It is the clinicians who can make improvements in the quality of the service yet from where we are we often meet obstacles.