Simon Webbe contemplated suicide just months before Strictly Come Dancing

Simon Webbe contemplated suicide before Strictly Come Dancing after battling crippling depression and alcoholism.

The Blue singer shut himself away and didn’t want to look at his own reflection just months before starting on the BBC series.

He told the Daily Mirror: “I hated who I was and started questioning my whole life. I was really depressed. I never attempted suicide but I thought about it.

“I turned mirrors round so I didn’t have to look at myself. I didn’t want to be here, didn’t want to be a part of anything.”

The star and his bandmates – Antony Costa, Duncan James and Lee Ryan – rose to fame and enjoyed huge success after forming in 2000 but went their separate ways in 2005.

They reformed in 2011 before their profile rose again after appearing on television show The Big Reunion last year.

But, following Blue’s recent 17-date tour, Simon struggled to adapt to normal life once his schedule became less hectic.

He said: “I was sitting at home, curtains closed, drinking a bottle of brandy a day. I didn’t leave the house for weeks on end except to buy bread or milk.”

However, Simon credits ballroom dance contest Strictly with saving him as it gave him structure and something to aim for once again.

He concluded: “Preparing for Strictly and being on it, I have lost four stone and changed my whole life.

“Now I want to get up in the morning. Learning the dances every week has been like therapy.”

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