Stephen Fry has revealed he was a suicidal teenager and admitted he wanted to take his own life.
In a new interview, the now 65-year-old hit writer, actor, director and comedian admitted he felt “lost and adrift” during a “disastrous childhood” that led to a prison sentence.
After being expelled from several schools, Stephen was convicted of credit card fraud at the age of 17 and remanded in Pucklechurch Prison for three months.
Candid childhood chat: Stephen Fry, 65, has revealed he was a suicidal teenager and admitted he wanted to take his own life
Stephen, who suffers from manic depression and has bipolar disorder, said on the Diary of A CEO podcast, “I was a disruptive, deeply difficult, messed-up kid.”
He recalled, “I never belonged socially and felt like I belonged because as a kid I was bad at all the things that were appreciated.”
Stephen stated he couldn’t catch a ball, he couldn’t paint and wasn’t musical, saying all he had was his “passion for language”.
“That was at boarding school. I was sent away when I was seven. My parents lived on the east coast in Norfolk and I was sent to Gloucestershire on the west coast.
Throwback: In a new interview, the now 65-year-old star admitted that she felt “lost and helpless” during her “disastrous childhood” which led to a prison sentence (pictured aged 14)
Real conversation: Stephen, who suffers from manic depression and has bipolar disorder, told the Diary of A CEO podcast, “I was a disruptive, deeply difficult, messed-up kid.”
“Sending a child 200 miles away sounds a little cruel to some people. But that’s how it was as far as I was concerned. My brother left and everyone at that school was in the same situation.’
“From the age of seven to 13 I was very disruptive,” the star admitted, before reminiscing about how he started doing “weird things” at age 13 after falling in love with a boy .
He said: “Things start to bubble inside you. Things start happening in your mind and soul. I was not prepared for the glorious catastrophe of love.
“I started doing weird things like climbing on all the roofs. That was the first school I got expelled from. Then I left home and went to London.’
Honest: “From the ages of seven to 13, I was very disruptive,” the star admitted, before reminiscing about how at age 13, after falling in love with a boy, he started doing “strange things” to do.
Later in the chat, Stephen revealed: “My parents took me to a psychiatrist when I was 14. A very grand office on Harley Street.
“Apparently my actions and behavior were typical of people from troubled families. He prescribed me something.’
He added: “They realized I had a mental kink,” but sadly Stephen wasn’t diagnosed with bipolar until he was 37.
Elsewhere in the podcast chat, Stephen admitted he attempted suicide when he was 17, confessing, “Actually, I wanted to take my own life first.”
Family: “My parents took me to a psychiatrist when I was 14… He prescribed me something… “They realized I had a mental kink” (pictured in 2003 with his parents)
Stephen also recalled how, after moving to London aged 17, he stole a coat from a pub and later found he had a wallet with two credit cards in it that “were very easy to scam”.
Ultimately, after using them to live lavishly across the country, he was arrested and remanded in custody for three months and later received two years’ probation.
What is bipolar disorder and how is it treated?
Bipolar disorder, formerly known as manic depression, can cause extreme mood swings.
It gives them episodes of depression – feeling very down and lethargic – and mania, feeling very high and overactive.
Each extreme episode of the condition can last for several weeks, and some sufferers may not often experience a “normal” mood.
Treatment options for managing bipolar disorder include mood stabilizers or psychological treatments such as talk therapy.
The NHS also recommends regular exercise and planning activities that provide a sense of accomplishment.
Bipolar disorder is thought to be caused by extreme stress, overwhelming problems, and life-changing events, as well as genetic and chemical factors.
He said: “Well, the best thing I could do after a disastrous childhood was I decided to focus now on getting to Cambridge.
“That changed everything… I want to please people. And if they don’t like me, I get upset. I did it wrong.’
Stephen has previously raised awareness about mental health after publicly addressing his own battle with manic depression.
In 2013, the star admitted that the year before he had tried to commit suicide by overdosing on a cocktail of vodka and pills and was only saved by a producer who discovered him.
In a 2021 speech, Fry said he had noticed a “general rise in discontent among young people” – regardless of their social class – and warned that his visits to schools as part of the mental health charity Mind gave him a “prevalence of self-harm.”
He told the Blank podcast: “There’s the general rise in discontent among young people, manifested not least in the appalling epidemic of self-harm that I don’t remember as a child.
“It may be that we were just protected from the idea, or it may be that it didn’t exist the way it is now.
“But I don’t remember the term ‘self-harm’, I don’t remember ever hearing of a kid – I went to school with or any school I went to – cutting himself with knives .”
He added: “I went to what you could call sink schools. It’s a terrible expression, but schools whose students come from very disadvantaged and underprivileged areas, and I’ve literally been to Eton or other expensive private schools to talk about it.
“Interestingly, there appears to be no difference in the prevalence of self-harm.”
Horrifying: Elsewhere in the podcast chat, Stephen admitted he attempted suicide when he was 17, confessing: “Actually, I wanted to take my own life first.”