Christopher Eccleston reveals he considered jumping in front of train

Doctor Who star Christopher Eccleston reveals he almost jumped in front of a train at his lowest point during his battle with depression

• Actor Christopher Eccleston, 55, said the closest he came to death was in 2016 
• Star revealed he was at ‘Piccadilly station in Manchester and a train was coming’
• He was then diagnosed with severe clinical depression and is now on medication
• Christopher, who lives in London, also had anorexia while playing Doctor Who
• In his new memoir, father-of-two describes himself as ‘a lifelong body-hater’

Doctor Who star Christopher Eccleston has revealed that he almost jumped in front of a train during his struggle with depression.

The British actor, 55, recently opened up about his battle with anorexia and how he was dealing with his mental health issues while filming for the hit sci-fi BBC show.

When asked by the Guardian what was the closest he had come to death, the father-of-two said it was during his ‘severe clinical depression in 2016.’

Opening up: Christopher Eccleston, 55, has revealed that he considered jumping in front of a train at Piccadilly station in Manchester during his struggle with depression in 2016

He said: ‘I was at Piccadilly station in Manchester and a train was coming.’ 

In his memoir, I Love The Bones Of You, Christopher also revealed he contemplated throwing himself under a train following the end of his marriage in 2015.

After the split with Mischka, his wife of four years, the actor started living in hotels and worried about losing touch with his children Albert, now seven, and Esme, six. 

He explained how he was in a state of ‘extreme anxiety, convinced I was either going to die or kill myself’.

Dr Who: The actor’s memoir also revealed that he struggled with anorexia while filming the hit sci-fi show

Eventually Christopher called a London psychiatric hospital, but only stayed for one night as he felt he had to continue working. 

Once he was done on the set of 2016 BBC drama The A Word, Christopher went back to the hospital and was put on a 24-hour watch by doctors.     

Looking back on the difficult time he said: ‘In my despair I reached for my phone and looked up a psychiatric hospital, I rang ahead, grabbed my bag and ran.’

Memoir: Christopher speaks about his mental health, work and family in his autobiography 

Secret struggle: Eccleston won acclaim for reinventing the Time Lord for a new generation of fans in 2005, but he was struggling with anorexia during the making of the sci-fi series

While lying awake in hospital, the star became convinced he was going to die: ‘I was 100 per cent sure I was in the last few weeks of my life.’ 

Shortly after this Christopher was about to start work on series two of Safe House but had a breakdown on the way to an event, reports the Sun.

He then checked into The Priory in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, where he was diagnosed with severe ­clinical depression.

His road to recovery then began and he was prescribed antidepressants.

Christopher said: ‘I am on them to this day. I could be on them for the rest of my days. I do have an issue with that. 

‘I would like to attempt slowly to reduce the dose, to experience reality again, to see how I do… And yet, interestingly I have received some of the best reviews of my life since I started taking them’.

Recovery: After receiving his diagnosis Christopher, pictured in October 2016, was prescribed antidepressants which he could be on for the rest of his life 

The actor, who won acclaim for reinventing the Time Lord for a new generation of fans in 2005, also revealed he was struggling during the making of the sci-fi series.

‘Many times I’ve wanted to reveal that I’m a lifelong anorexic and dysmorphic,’ he writes. 

‘I never have. I always thought of it as a filthy secret, because I’m Northern, because I’m male and because I’m working-class.’

The father-of-two revealed his anorexia was prevalent during his spell on the BBC drama, adding: ‘The illness is still there raging within me as the Doctor. 

‘People love the way I look in that series, but I was very ill. The reward for that illness was the part. And therein lies the perpetuation of the whole sorry situation.’  

For confidential support call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit a local Samaritans branch, see www.samaritans.org for details. 

The future: Christopher, pictured at New York Comic Con on October 3, is father to children Albert and Esme and lives in London

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