https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-8308885/Tony-Slatterys-partner-says-hard-care-whos-edge-documentary.htmlPartner of Tony Slattery says the comedian is so troubled that there are 'dozens' of versions of his personality after being abused by a priest aged eight led to a lifelong battle with depression and alcohol
Actor Tony Slattery, 60, followed by a film crew as he visited mental health experts
Wanted to find out a concrete mental health diagnosis after battling depression
He revealed last year he had been abused sexually by a priest aged eight
In the BBC Two documentary, opens up about alcohol and cocaine abuse in depth
His partner of 36 years Mark Hutchinson admitted caring for him was challenging
By Claire Toureille For Mailonline
Published: 08:10, 21 May 2020 | Updated: 11:01, 21 May 2020
Whose Line Is It Anyway comedian Tony Slattery and his partner are seen opening up about his battle with alcohol and mental health in a candid BBC Two documentary airing on Thursday. What's the Matter with Tony Slattery? follows the London-born actor, 60, along with his partner of 36 years Mark Michael Hutchinson, as he is referred to countless mental health experts to get to the bottom of his ongoing battle with depression and alcohol. The hard-hitting programme explores the link between Tony's substance abuse, his mental health, and the sexual abuse he suffered at the hands of a priest, aged eight. 'Well, it wasn’t pleasant, getting f****** up the a*** at the age of eight. No, it was not,' he is seen telling to Ciaran Mulholland, a consultant psychiatrist located in Belfast.
Meanwhile Mark, who met Tony when they starred in a 1986 West End musical, admits that caring for him is a challenge, describing him as 'always on the edge' and 'erratic', saying he's seen 'dozens' of versions of Tony over the years. Mark, who met Tony at the height of his career, says: 'It's tiring caring for someone, loving someone who is constantly on the edge.'
'I don't know where the alcohol stops and where the depression starts.'
'You don't know what to prioritise or treat first: is it because of the alcohol or is it depression,' he adds.
Mark also says he has seen 'dozens of versions of Tony' over the years, so much so, that he has started to speak to each of them as if they were different people. 'I see Tony and he seems right as rain, then he'll go out and it's like there's another Tony there,' he said, describing him as a 'lethargic, negative Tony'.
Speaking candidly about his partner's troubles with substance abuse, he admits to having left him on a few occasions over the years. 'I've run away a couple of times, I'd go away for a couple of weeks,' he says, adding he would always come back because he couldn't stand being apart from Tony.
Mark has seen Tony at the height of his addiction, and discussed the actor's sexual abuse with him before the 'Whose Line is it Anyway' star opened up about it in a Guardian interview in 2019. In a 2019 interview with This Morning, Tony revealed he had once bought £4,000 worth of cocaine. At the time he explained he had been on anti-depressants for 15 years and could not imagine life without them or without alcohol. However, without an exact diagnosis, the actor cannot get a treatment to match, and therefore cannot get the help he needs to get better. The documentary follows the actor as he tries to get an exact diagnosis of his mental health issues, with experts trying to determine whether he falls on the bipolar spectrum. Once called manic depression, a bipolar disorder describes an individual experiencing manic bouts of euphoria and crushing bouts of depression and unhappiness. These episodes of mania or depression can last for several weeks at a time. Getting an exact diagnosis is made more difficult, as Slattery is a heavy drinker who admits it had been years since he had had a day without alcohol. In the BBC documentary, Slattery and Hutchinson explain he suffers regular bouts of paranoia. The actor recalls throwing pieces of electrical equipment in the Thames, convinced they had been tapped, and said he would do it so often, the police had to be called. 'He kept mentioning that he was being spied on,' Hutchinson explained, adding the actor had, at times, has been a danger to himself.
The documentary also touches on the subject of Tony's sexual abuse, which happened when he was sexually assaulted by a priest, aged eight. New science confirms that people with bipolar are over 2.5 times more likely to have suffered physical or mental abuse as a child, and the actor is seen looking for answers in his painful past. In a gut-wrenching moment, the actor cries as he admits to hiding the abuse from everyone he knew, 'shoving' it deep so he didn't have to deal with it. Speaking about the documentary in an interview with the Guardian on Monday, Mark said Tony has been doing better in recent years, and that he is starting to see the 'old Tony.' By the end of last year, for the first time in a long time, I could see the old Tony. Every day is up and down, but he’s starting to believe that people do seek out his company that is an upturn,†he said.
