SCOT Squad star Darren Connell has opened up on his alcoholism battle in a bid to help others.
The comedian who plays hapless daftie Bobby Muir in the BBC police spoof is helping launch the Listen Up podcast, which explores addiction and recovery.
Darren bravely told of his own mental health descent, where he was downing seven pints after stand-up shows, slowly feeling more worthless in his life in the process.
He revealed how he performed his first ever gig extremely drunk.
And he described a promoter who once made him feel like a "circus animal" by plying him with alcohol before he went on stage.
Darren told Eddie Clarke, outreach manager of podcast producers Abbeycare Group, an addiction treatment provider, of the bonfire he built of his mental health - with alcohol inflaming everything.
He said: "I remember my last drink. I just drank myself to complete disgust.
"I was so disgusted and so ashamed of myself and I do remember having this physical feeling of, I know that I'm never going to drink again but it's going to be hard trying to get help.
He initially struggled with his recovery and was on antidepressants during his first year of sobriety, around nine years ago.
He also found Alcoholics Anonymous meetings difficult.
Darren said: "I think a lot of it was the absolute shame and bitterness of being unable to say I was an alcoholic.
So I think I went in there really angry.
"I remember once at a meeting, I thought, 'Why should I be so ashamed about saying this?' It's only about me and my own problems that I'm creating.
"And when I actually said that I'm an alcoholic, I felt a weight come off my shoulders and I just embraced it.
"I started to notice changes with my family, like my mum saying things like, 'Keep it up, we're dead proud of you."
And I thought, 'My life is actually changing." Asked what advice he would give others going through the same thing, Darren said: "Don't be ashamed in asking for help. Go to your doctor and ask for help.
"Get it done by a professional. Don't get it done by somebody that's screaming about sea moss on the top of a hill in a TikTok video. Go down the professional route and figure it out for yourself."
Darren also recalled how, during his heavy drinking days, he would go to pubs by himself after his own stand-up shows, having six or seven drinks without them "even touching the sides".
He's best known for his recurring role as loveable but daft Bobby Muir in the BBC comedy, where he plays opposite long-suffering officer Karen Bartke, played by Ann Millar.
The Listen Up podcast is produced by Abbeycare, one of Scotland's leading residential rehab centres for people with drug and alcoho...
The comedian who plays hapless daftie Bobby Muir in the BBC police spoof is helping launch the Listen Up podcast, which explores addiction and recovery.
Darren bravely told of his own mental health descent, where he was downing seven pints after stand-up shows, slowly feeling more worthless in his life in the process.
He revealed how he performed his first ever gig extremely drunk.
And he described a promoter who once made him feel like a "circus animal" by plying him with alcohol before he went on stage.
Darren told Eddie Clarke, outreach manager of podcast producers Abbeycare Group, an addiction treatment provider, of the bonfire he built of his mental health - with alcohol inflaming everything.
He said: "I remember my last drink. I just drank myself to complete disgust.
"I was so disgusted and so ashamed of myself and I do remember having this physical feeling of, I know that I'm never going to drink again but it's going to be hard trying to get help.
He initially struggled with his recovery and was on antidepressants during his first year of sobriety, around nine years ago.
He also found Alcoholics Anonymous meetings difficult.
Darren said: "I think a lot of it was the absolute shame and bitterness of being unable to say I was an alcoholic.
So I think I went in there really angry.
"I remember once at a meeting, I thought, 'Why should I be so ashamed about saying this?' It's only about me and my own problems that I'm creating.
"And when I actually said that I'm an alcoholic, I felt a weight come off my shoulders and I just embraced it.
"I started to notice changes with my family, like my mum saying things like, 'Keep it up, we're dead proud of you."
And I thought, 'My life is actually changing." Asked what advice he would give others going through the same thing, Darren said: "Don't be ashamed in asking for help. Go to your doctor and ask for help.
"Get it done by a professional. Don't get it done by somebody that's screaming about sea moss on the top of a hill in a TikTok video. Go down the professional route and figure it out for yourself."
Darren also recalled how, during his heavy drinking days, he would go to pubs by himself after his own stand-up shows, having six or seven drinks without them "even touching the sides".
He's best known for his recurring role as loveable but daft Bobby Muir in the BBC comedy, where he plays opposite long-suffering officer Karen Bartke, played by Ann Millar.
The Listen Up podcast is produced by Abbeycare, one of Scotland's leading residential rehab centres for people with drug and alcoho...
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Daily Record (Digital) - 1 Issue, March 27, 2025