According to a report by Metro (UK) on September 6, 2026, Leah Charles-King has opened up about her long and difficult experience living with bipolar disorder, revealing how stigma, misdiagnosis and inadequate support affected almost every part of her life.
Charles-King was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2012, but she did not publicly reveal her condition until April 2019. After finally sharing her diagnosis on Instagram, she described feeling an enormous sense of relief after years of hiding what she considered a “dirty secret.”
Bipolar disorder can involve extreme changes in mood, ranging from depressive episodes to periods of mania or hypomania. For Charles-King, the condition has involved severe depression, mania, impulsive behaviour, racing thoughts, hyperactivity, excessive spending, disrupted sleep and suicidal thoughts.
She said her symptoms began during her teenage years, but her struggles were often dismissed as normal teenage emotions. Her concerns about her rapidly changing moods and thoughts were not taken seriously, and she said the support she needed was not offered.
The situation continued throughout her twenties. One of the major depressive periods she remembers occurred after her girl group, Kleshay, lost its record deal in 2000. Another serious episode followed after she was made redundant when Disney Channel UK closed.
During those periods, she became withdrawn, stopped seeing friends, rarely left home, struggled to eat properly and found it difficult to function. Despite regularly visiting her GP and explaining how badly she was feeling, she said she was repeatedly dismissed or encouraged to simply remain strong.
Charles-King, who is a Black woman, believes she also faced what she describes as medical misogynoir, referring to the combined effects of racism and sexism within healthcare. She said that even when she expressed suicidal thoughts, her concerns were not adequately addressed.
She was eventually diagnosed with depression in 2010 and prescribed SSRIs, a type of antidepressant. However, she later realised that the medication had triggered a manic episode because her underlying condition was bipolar disorder.
The manic episode lasted about a year. During that period, she said she barely felt the need to sleep or eat and experienced an intense sense of confidence and energy. Her mind was constantly filled with ideas, and she felt almost invincible.
However, the consequences were devastating. She became unemployed for two years, accumulated significant debt and engaged in impulsive spending. She recalled receiving packages she did not remember ordering and buying drinks for people she barely knew despite being heavily in debt.
Her behaviour also damaged relationships with friends and family, and she briefly became homeless. Although mania sometimes made her feel euphoric and powerful, she said suicidal thoughts could still appear suddenly, making the experience frightening and confusing.
In 2012, her mental health reached another critical point. She wrote a suicide note and handed it to a GP receptionist, hoping the message would finally prompt urgent action. An ambulance was called, but after arriving at hospital, she said she was left alone in a room for hours while frightened and confused.
She was eventually sent home without a diagnosis, treatment or immediate support. Despite being severely suicidal, she remained on a waiting list for psychiatric assessment for three months, during which her condition deteriorated further.
When she was finally assessed, she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and generalised anxiety disorder. Although the diagnosis initially brought relief after years of struggling without an explanation, she soon became concerned about the stigma surrounding bipolar disorder.
For the next seven years, she kept her diagnosis largely private, even from some close friends. She feared that people would judge her, that she might lose work opportunities and that her credibility and career would suffer if others knew about her condition.
Over time, however, Charles-King began rebuilding her life. Medication helped stabilise her condition, while therapy helped her understand her experiences, process the past and move forward.
She eventually became tired of hiding and decided to accept her diagnosis rather than allowing it to control how she saw herself. She educated herself about bipolar disorder, prioritised stability, accepted support and developed routines that helped her manage her condition.
Her decision to speak publicly about bipolar disorder was initially not about becoming a mental health advocate. She simply wanted to stop living what she described as a double life and no longer feel as though she had to hide part of herself.
Despite previously worrying that revealing her diagnosis could damage her television career, she secured a presenting role on Channel 4’s A Place in the Sun in 2021, a position she continues to hold.
She has also rebuilt relationships with friends and family, whom she considers an important part of her support system. She later became an ambassador for Bipolar UK and used her experiences to support mental health advocacy.
Charles-King says she is now in the best state of mental wellbeing she has experienced in her life. She believes the stigma surrounding mental health conditions can sometimes be as damaging as the symptoms themselves because it can make people feel ashamed and afraid to seek help.
For her, acceptance became an important part of learning to live well with bipolar disorder. She now believes that bipolar should not be regarded as a secret or something shameful.
Charles-King emphasises that her condition does not define her entire identity. She says she has bipolar, but bipolar is not who she is. Her experience, she believes, demonstrates that it is possible for people living with bipolar disorder to build fulfilling lives and thrive rather than merely exist.
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