Matt Willis to reveal all about drug and alcohol addiction in heartbreaking new documentary
BUSTED bassist Matt Willis will lay bare his demons in a documentary about battles with drink and drugs.
The musician and actor reveals periods growing up that were tainted by addictions, and how he was saved by starting a new life with wife Emma, host of The Voice.
Filming for the BBC One project, expected on screens next year, has just kicked off.
It comes from the same production team that brought us Roman Kemp’s documentary, Our Silent Emergency, where he admitted suicidal thoughts.
A TV insider said: “This will be equally personal for Matt, as he has never delved so deep into his past before, at least not in public.
“It will reveal how some of his problems stemmed from a childhood where his parents made him feel he should conform to male stereotypes.
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“That included telling him that boys don’t cry, which meant he never shed a tear until he was 29 years old.”
The documentary will touch on his time with boyband Busted, who formed in 2000 but split in 2005.
Matt went on to win 2006’s I’m A Celebrity before going into acting on TV and performing in the West End.
It will also put his relationship with Emma under the microscope, and how marrying her in 2008 and starting a family turned his life around.
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Matt said previously about first becoming a dad to eldest daughter Isabelle: “I remember looking at her and going, ‘Oh no, I’ve been getting everything wrong’.
“Suddenly everything became about this little thing who needed us so badly and I was filled with fear and dread and anxiety.
“I’ll never forget it, because it completely changed me in every possible way and had more of an impact on me than anything ever has. And it continues to.
“It’s only once you get older you realise certain things you grew up with have influenced you for the rest of your life.”
PAYBACK TIME FOR MORVEN
LINE of Duty and Bodyguard creator Jed Mercurio is serving up yet another gritty crime thriller.
The new ITV show, Payback, is a six-parter that his company HTM Television will produce.
And The Bay actress Morven Christie has been drafted in to play lead character Lexie.
Set in the suburbs of Edinburgh, she discovers her husband Jared has been laundering money for crime lord Cal Morris, played by Peter Mullan.
As a partner in Jared’s business, Lexie has to walk a delicate tightrope as she is forced to work for Cal, while trying to bring him and his crooked business tumbling down.
Morven said: “I fell in love with Lexie from the first page, and I’m absolutely delighted to be working with Peter and this wonderful team.”
ITV gameshow The Chase set a record on Wednesday when a solo player won its biggest jackpot.
A contestant called Dan walked away with £80,000 after outsmarting Chaser Jenny Ryan.
With seconds to go, she failed to get more questions right than him in the final round.
WALLER DEAL
FLEABAG creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge raked in £19.2million last year – but paid herself ‘just’ £1.1m.
Instead of putting the lion’s share into her personal bank account, she ploughed £9.9million of profits back into her entertainment company.
Newly filed accounts show it is now worth £21.8million and has cash reserves of £6.2million.
The BBC comedy isn’t the only source of income for Phoebe, who is an actress, writer and producer and one of the most sought-after stars on both sides of the Atlantic.
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She worked on the first series of Killing Eve, as well as the last James Bond film, No Time To Die, and has won three Emmys.
Next up, Phoebe is starring opposite Harrison Ford in the fifth Indiana Jones movie, which started filming last year. That should top up her coffers.
