Stephen Fry: The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive

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Stephen Fry: The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive
Directed byRoss Wilson
Starring Stephen Fry
No. of episodes2
Original release
Release2006 (2006)

Stephen Fry: The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive is a 2006 two-part television documentary directed by Ross Wilson and featuring British actor and comedian Stephen Fry. [1] It explores the effects of living with bipolar disorder on other celebrities and members of the public. Fry suffers from a less severe version of the illness called cyclothymia. [2] It won the International Emmy Award for Best Documentary at the 35th International Emmys in 2007. [3]

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A follow-up documentary, titled The Not So Secret Life of the Manic Depressive: 10 Years On , aired in February 2016. [4]

The Robbie Williams segment, featured in the original BBC broadcast, was cut from further airings as well as the DVD release, likely due to copyright issues with the musical inserts.

Peter Gabriel was reportedly approached to appear. "After my divorce, I got very depressed and ended up doing three years' therapy with my ex-wife and three years on my own," he stated to Mark Blake. "I believe in being open about this, and that led Stephen to believe that I'm bipolar. To the best of my knowledge, I am not bipolar. I can be a little up and down, but not the same extremes as manic depressives I have known. But I think it's helpful to talk about this, especially for men." [5]

See also

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References

  1. "Writer and actor Stephen Fry has it. So has pop star Robbie Williams. But what is it like to live with manic depression?". York Press. 13 October 2006.
  2. "Stephen Fry: The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive (but I have cyclothymia)". BBC - Health. Archived from the original on 12 January 2010. Retrieved 30 December 2009.
  3. Johnson, Wesley (20 November 2007), "British TV shows scoop Emmy awards in US", The Independent , retrieved 30 December 2009
  4. Newall, Sally (15 February 2016). "The Not So Secret Life of the Manic Depressive: 10 Years On, TV review, Stephen Fry is still helping to get the message across on mental health" . The Independent . Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  5. Blake, Mark (December 2011). "Cash for questions: Peter Gabriel". Q . p. 46.