Helen Flanagan shares mental health struggles and ‘heartbreaking’ reason for pulling out of West End show
Coronation Street star Helen Flanagan says she was sent into a psychosis after suffering a “bad reaction” to her ADHD medication earlier this year.
The 33-year-old TV star, who’s best known for her role as Rosie Webster in Coronation Street, shared the news on Instagram, after a couple of months away from social media.
She said she was left “emotionally struggling” after splitting from the father of her children, footballer Scott Sinclair – with whom she shares Matilda, seven, Delilah, five, and Charlie, two.
She also explained her reason for pulling out of a theatre tour of Cluedo 2 which kicked off last month, saying it was due to a bad reaction to her medication for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
At the time, it was announced that Flanagan had withdrawn from the show for “medical reasons”.
Alongside a selfie with her giving the peace sign, she wrote: “Had a few months off from social but I’m back now.
“So basically I really struggled mental health wise December/January. I felt really not great in my head over Christmas and I didn’t really feel that much different when I took the kids away for new year.
“I had a lot of difficult things going on things I just can’t talk about on Instagram.
“I felt terrible, so I was due my theatre tour which I was excited about so when I came back from holiday I thought it was best for me to take some medication so I’d feel better and be able to cope better with being a working single mum of three and I was emotionally struggling with the break up from the father of my kids.”
‘I just love my kids so much’
She added: “I had a really bad reaction though to the medication (an ADHD medication) and it sent me into a psychosis for a few days which I didn’t know I was in.
“I just love my kids so much, this bad reaction though was a few days before rehearsals were starting and sadly I just wasn’t mentally well enough to do it.
“I was heartbroken as I’ve always been professional as an actress but I needed to stay at home and feel better for me and my kids, with the help of my amazing parents.”
She added that she felt like she was in a “really good happy place” and has found therapy “amazing”.
She said: “I feel like I’ve worked on myself with things that were quite tough to me but I feel lighter now.”
The cast of Cleudo 2 (L-R) Edward Howells, Dawn Buckland, Ellie Leach, Jack Bennett, Jason Durr, Hannah Boyce, Gabriel Paul. Pic: Alastair Muir
Flanagan was replaced in the role of Miss Scarlett in Cluedo 2 by Strictly Come Dancing winner Ellie Leach, who was one of the fellow celebrities to comment on Flanagan’s post, writing “love you” with three kisses.
Other stars including Ex-Girls Aloud singer Nadine Coyle, presenter Carol Vorderman and Coronation Street actresses Lucy Fallon and Brooke Vincent also showed their support.
Flanagan played Rosie Webster in the Manchester-based ITV soap from 2000 to 2012, returning to the role between 2017 and 2018.
US musician and rock producer Steve Albini, who has worked with acts including Nirvana, PJ Harvey and Pixies, has died aged 61.
The “punk legend” recorded Nirvana’s third and final studio album In Utero, released in 1993, as well as Pixies’ debut studio album Surfer Rosa, which came out in 1988, and PJ Harvey’s second studio album Rid Of Me, in 1993.
Pixies were one of late Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain’s favourite bands.
Albini also recorded and mixed the 1998 record Walking Into Clarksdale, the only album by surviving Led Zeppelin members Jimmy Page and Robert Plant.
(L-R) Nirvana’s Dave Grohl, Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic in August 1991. Pic: AP
He also performed in his own bands including Big Black and his most recent project, Shellac.
Shellac had just finished recording a new album, To All Trains, due for release next week, and the group were set to tour the record prior to Albini’s death, according to the music website Pitchfork.
In 1997, he opened his famed Electric Audio recording studio in Chicago.
He told The Guardian last year: “The recording part is the part that matters to me – that I’m making a document that records a piece of our culture, the life’s work of the musicians that are hiring me.
“I take that part very seriously. I want the music to outlive all of us.”
Brian Fox, an engineer at the studio, said Albini died following a heart attack on Tuesday night.
Speaking in 2018, Albini said he had worked on more than 2,000 albums, mostly for underground or indie bands.
Among the tributes, Pixies posted a photo of him on X, with the caption RIP Steve Albini.
The Lord Of The Rings star Elijah Wood wrote: “Ugh man, a heartbreaking loss of a legend. Love to his family and innumerable colleagues. Farewell, Steve Albini.”
Rough Trade, a retail chain of record shops in the UK and US, wrote on X: “Musician, studio engineer and the mastermind behind some of rock’s greatest albums. A hero to us all. Thank you for setting the standard so high. RIP Steve Albini. Deeply missed, forever loved.”
Born on 22 July 1962 in Pasadena, California, he grew up in Montana and went to Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where he studied journalism.
He became a fixture on the Chicago punk rock scene in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when he began performing with various bands and engineering albums.
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Albini remained a prominent figure in the Chicago music scene after his time at Northwestern, owning and operating Electrical Audio.
Pitchfork reported he did not take royalties from records he worked on, and he kept his day rates for artists comparatively low, especially as a producer with his pedigree.
He also became well-known for his commentary on the state of the music industry in the age of streaming.
Albini is survived by his filmmaker wife Heather Whinna.
Legislation dubbed the “Taylor Swift bill” has passed in Minnesota in an effort to help people buy concert tickets.
The bill, officially called House File 1989 in reference to Taylor Swift’s hit album and the year she was born, was signed into Minnesota law on Tuesday.
It will require sellers offering tickets to people in the state or tickets for concerts being held there to disclose all fees up front and prohibit resellers from selling more than one copy of a ticket, among other measures.
Minnesota State Representative Kelly Moller, chief author of the bill, pushed for the legislation after she tried to get tickets to one of Swift’s concerts in 2022.
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Ms Moller said she was among thousands of people who became stuck in ticket sales company Ticketmaster’s system after it crashed amid the huge demand for Swift concert tickets and attacks from bots, which tried to buy tickets for resale at inflated prices.
The situation led to congressional hearings but no federal legislation.
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Governor Tim Walz, who signed the bill into law at First Avenue, a popular concert venue in downtown Minneapolis, said it was “protection so you don’t get a bad ticket, a fraudulent ticket, and resellers can’t snatch them all up before you get an opportunity”.
Two young girls – one wearing a shirt that said “A LOT going on at the moment” in a nod to Swift, and another wearing a shirt that said “Iowa 22” in reference to basketball star Caitlin Clark – attended the bill signing with their dad, Mike Dean, who testified in support of it.
An eras tour ticket. Pic: Fernando Gens/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images
Mr Dean said his daughter came to him in December and said she wanted to see Clark play. He said the website initially showed the tickets would cost $300 total, but they ended up costing over $500 because of hidden fees.
The timer had begun in the online checkout process, so he had just minutes to decide whether to buy the tickets for the higher price or lose them.
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He ultimately bought them, but he told the Associated Press these practices mean customers can’t make informed decisions. The new law, he said, will bring transparency to the process.
Sky News contacted Ticketmaster for comment.
A spokesperson for fellow ticket sales giants StubHub said: “StubHub has long advocated for legislation that protects fans from anti-competitive and anti-consumer practices in the ticket buying process.
“We share the goals of HF1989 and look forward to continuing discussions with policymakers to advance policies that provide more transparency, more control, and more choice for ticket buyers.”
The law takes effect from 1 January 2025 and applies to tickets sold on or after that date.
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