Will Mellor has reflected on the devastating loss of his sister Joanne, 12 years after her death, and the impact it has had on his mental health.
Joanne died in 2012 at the age of 44 in what Will believes were avoidable circumstances and admitted he felt “guilty”.
Frankly speaking, Will, 48, r.revealed how grief and guilt took their toll on him and how he has since become an advocate for mental health awareness.
Joanne, who was disabled, died after a healthcare worker allegedly failed to give her medication.
Despite taking the case to court, Will said justice was not served as his disability and pre-existing health conditions were cited as contributing factors.
‘I felt guilty because I was her brother and I couldn’t help her,’ told him The mirroradding: ‘She looked at me, even though I was her younger brother, because she had a mental disability and a physical disability, she was always like a girl to me. And that killed me.’
Will Mellor has reflected on the devastating loss of his sister Joanne, 12 years after her death, and the impact it has had on his mental health
Joanne died in 2012 at the age of 44 in what Will believes were avoidable circumstances and admitted he felt “guilty”.
The actor also spoke about how he struggled to process grief in the past, turning to drinking and gambling after his sister’s death.
He admitted: ‘It’s really tough. Pain has a way of surprising you, it hides. I thought it was okay, I didn’t mourn the loss of my sister too much. I took to drinking, gambling and all the things I would advise against. But I didn’t know what to do.
Will’s pain was compounded in April 2020 when his father, Bill, passed away from cancer just weeks after being diagnosed.
The loss was further compounded by the strict Covid-19 restrictions at the time. ‘When I lost my dad I just cried when I felt like crying, I let it out. I didn’t repress it, I just let it out,” she said. ‘And I think with my sister I held back, I tried to protect everyone else from grieving. I pretended I was okay when I was dying inside.’
The actor has since channeled his experiences into advocating for open conversations about mental health, particularly among men who may feel pressured to suppress their emotions.
The Broadchurch star explained that everyone has bad days, but no one should feel bad about it because someone else is probably going through something similar.
She went on to say that talking is “huge” and that there’s nothing wrong with crying.
It comes after the actor ‘sobbed uncontrollably’ at ‘man camp’ as part of a new TV series.
Speaking candidly, Will revealed how grief and guilt took their toll on him and how he has since become an advocate for mental health awareness.
It comes after Will and Ralf Little reunited for a TV show called Will & Ralf Should Know Better, where Will broke down over the loss of his father.
“I started talking and suddenly I started crying,” Will admitted. ‘All these emotions, because I had lost my dad’ (Pictured with his dad)
Will reunited with his Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps co-star Ralf Little for a new TV show on U&Dave, called Will & Ralf Should Know Better.
Appearing on This Morning, Will revealed that in one episode the duo went to a “men’s camp” where he was asked to talk about the last time he was “heartbroken.”
“I started talking and suddenly I started crying,” Will admitted. “All these emotions, because I had lost my father.”
Will said the conversation “unlocked” something he had been holding back and had inspired him to seek therapy to deal with his problems.
The actor’s father, Bill, passed away during the Covid pandemic, just weeks after being diagnosed with cancer in April 2020.
The tragedy occurred at the height of the pandemic and nationwide lockdown, meaning Will was unable to be with his family during that incredibly difficult time.
Speaking to Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary, Will said: “I had to talk to a stranger and they said, ‘Can you tell this person in front of you the last time you had your heart broken?’ and I started talking, and from nowhere I just started crying.
‘All these emotions, because I had lost my father. And I didn’t know this was going to come out and all these things came out of me, and I couldn’t stop it.’
He added: “I felt so weak at the time, thinking ‘where is all this coming from?’ I didn’t realize how much I was holding on.
And I guess that’s their job: to open the door you didn’t know needed to be opened.
Will then admitted that he plans to go to therapy to talk about the things he realized he had been repressing.
“It was difficult and now I took it with me and I’m actually going to start talking to someone,” she said. “Because obviously I’m holding on to things I didn’t know I was holding on to.”
Appearing on This Morning, Will revealed that in one episode the duo went to a “men’s camp” where he was asked to talk about the last time he was “heartbroken.”
Will said the conversation “unlocked” something he had been holding back and had inspired him to seek therapy to deal with his problems.
In response, Dermot added: “It could definitely resonate with your emotions and feelings, and I think a lot of middle-aged men will.”
“We don’t talk about things and just having someone go on TV and say, ‘Talk about it’ doesn’t work for me, so seeing someone else experience the same thing can work.”
Of the intimidating “man camp”, Ralf said: “I’d rather have parachuted out of a helicopter, I’d rather do anything.” Come into this Man Camp and just look each other in the eyes to talk about feelings, talk about anything.
“If we’re honest, I think we both approach it with a little bit of cynicism, a little bit of, ‘Oh, here we go, we’re just making a TV show.'”
“A little cynical, but we were both surprised by how moving it was.”
The actor revealed that he lost his father during the Covid-19 pandemic, while wiping tears from his eyes (pictured with his father).
The duo’s new show has already had a great response from viewers, with Ralph adding: “Honestly, in terms of the responses we’ve had on social media, I’ve received some of the most beautiful messages about any job I’ve ever had.” . made.
“A lot of people were like, ‘I’ve watched your show and it really made me realize that I need to face this, deal with this, talk about this or open up.'”
Speaking in 2022 about his father’s death, Will said; ‘It was a really difficult time… it was a horrible time.
“He was my hero, he was never going to have a good time.”
Pal Ralf also weighed in on the conversation, saying, “He was incredibly open and genuine in talking about it.”