Stand-up comedian and television personality Seann Walsh has offered a deeply personal insight into the formative experiences that shaped his life, discussing his father's heroin addiction, his own struggles with alcohol dependency, and the profound consequences of his notorious appearance on Strictly Come Dancing.
A Childhood Shaped by Addiction
During a candid conversation on Davina McCall's Begin Again podcast, Walsh, now 40, reflected on growing up in Lewisham, south London, before his family relocated to Brighton. He described how his father's crippling heroin addiction created an unstable home environment that he only fully understood as he entered adolescence.
The comedian revealed the paradoxical nature of living with a parent dependent on hard drugs: "I don't know if this relates to alcoholism, but when you grow up with a heroin addict as a father the irony is - and I think a lot of people in the same situation will relate to this - you want your dad on that thing that he smokes, because the problem is not when he's on it."
Walsh explained that when his father was using heroin, he became more present and generous: "When he's on that thing then we've got a dad in a good mood, we've got an upbeat dad, we've got a dad who's handing out a score, £20, go and enjoy yourself."
The Absence Between Highs
The comedian painted a stark picture of the alternative reality when his father wasn't using: "The problem with having a parent who relies on that drug in particular, is when they're not on it, then they're not present. You know, my dad was either on heroin or he was horizontal in bed. That's it. And there is no middle ground between those two things."
Walsh recalled being instructed to keep his father's addiction secret as he entered secondary school in Sussex, which marked his first real understanding that his father's behaviour was considered wrong by societal standards. "He told us not to tell anyone," Walsh remembered. "And from that point I remember, that was the first time I became aware that whatever this thing was that he was doing, and I didn't know it was heroin, necessarily, but the thing that he was doing was wrong, in some way."
From Personal Trauma to Professional Material
The comedian has previously channeled his difficult relationship with his father, who has since overcome his addiction, into his creative work. Walsh has explored these themes in his comedy specials Kiss and Seann Walsh: Is Dead, Happy Now?, transforming personal pain into professional material that resonates with audiences.
Now settled with partner Grace Adderley and father to daughter Wylda, three, and son Oscar, eleven months, Walsh has found stability in family life that contrasts sharply with his childhood experiences. This transition to fatherhood played a crucial role in his decision to address his own substance issues.
The Journey to Sobriety
Walsh revealed that he made the decision to stop drinking in 2019 after recognising his growing dependency on alcohol. "I made the decision to stop in 2019, and I did well, but I had a few blowouts, and I only ever did blowouts," he admitted. "Every time I drank it was a blowout. So I had a few blowouts in 2019 and after that I managed to not have a drop since."
The comedian described the surprising psychological shift that accompanied his sobriety: "What surprises me is not wanting to do that at all. That's what you can never imagine. You can imagine not drinking because you've kind of made this choice that you've got to not drink, but you can't imagine that you won't want to drink."
Walsh offered a profound insight into the nature of addiction: "There's a great freedom in not wanting to do that, or not needing to do that. You think the reason you're drinking is because you want to be drunk, but actually the reason you're drinking is because you don't want to be sober. That is big, that's a big thing to realise."
Rebuilding After Strictly Scandal
The comedian's path to sobriety coincided with his efforts to rebuild his career following the 2018 Strictly Come Dancing scandal that derailed his professional trajectory. Walsh found himself at the centre of the show's biggest controversy when he was filmed kissing his married dance partner Katya Jones while in a long-term relationship with actress Rebecca Humphries.
Reflecting on the intense public scrutiny and career consequences, Walsh said: "It's very, very, very difficult for me, probably anyone, to condense that. But one of the things that becomes so surreal is the seeming enjoyment and pleasure that people took from your life."
Moving Forward, Not Back
The comedian has adopted a philosophical approach to the scandal's lasting impact: "You can't really go back to where you were before that happened in your life; that has happened, right? And you're going to live for the rest of your life, with that having happened."
Walsh emphasised the importance of forward momentum: "You can't delete what's happened, so you're going to have to go forward, not back. You're going to have to go forward in a different direction to where you were going, and I think that took me many years to work out. But as soon as I learnt that, it made it easier to go, 'you've got to live with this, you can't delete this. Unfortunately, or fortunately, it's part of you, and now let's move forward'."
Through his candid revelations, Walsh has offered a rare glimpse into the complex interplay between childhood trauma, personal addiction, public scandal, and the challenging journey toward redemption and self-discovery.
