''Stephen Fry: The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive'' is a 2006 two-part television documentary directed by Ross Wilson and featuring British actor and comedian Stephen Fry. It explores the effects of living with

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...

on other celebrities and members of the public. Fry himself suffers from a less severe version of the illness called

cyclothymia Cyclothymia ( ), also known as cyclothymic disorder, psychothemia/psychothymia, bipolar III, affective personality disorder and cyclothymic personality disorder, is a mental and behavioural disorder that involves numerous periods of symptoms of ...

. It won the

International Emmy Award for Best Documentary The International Emmy Award for Best Documentary is presented since 1967 by the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (IATAS) to the best documentaries produced and aired initially outside the United States. Rules According to the ...

at the 35th International Emmys in 2007. A follow-up documentary, titled '' The Not So Secret Life of the Manic Depressive: 10 Years On'', aired in February 2016.

Celebrities featured

*Andy Behrman *

Jo Brand Josephine Grace Brand (born 23 July 1957) is an English comedian, writer, presenter and actress. Starting her entertainment career with a move from psychiatric nursing to the alternative comedy stand-up scene and early performances on '' Saturd ...

Richard Dreyfuss Richard Stephen Dreyfuss (; born Dreyfus; October 29, 1947) is an American actor. He is known for starring in popular films during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, including ''American Graffiti'' (1973), ''Jaws'' (1975), ''Close Encounters of the T ...

* Carrie Fisher * Griff Rhys Jones *

Tony Slattery Tony Declan James Slattery (born 9 November 1959) is an English actor and comedian. He appeared on British television regularly from the mid-1980s, most notably as a regular on the Channel 4 improvisation show ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' His ...

Rick Stein Rick may refer to: People *Rick (given name), a list of people with the given name *Alan Rick (born 1976), Brazilian politician, journalist, pastor and television personality *Johannes Rick (1869–1946), Austrian-born Brazilian priest and mycol ...

Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stud ...

The Robbie Williams segment, featured in the original BBC broadcast, was cut from further airings as well as the DVD release, likely due to copyright issues with the musical inserts.

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...

was reportedly approached to appear. "After my divorce, I got very depressed and ended up doing three years' therapy with my ex-wife and three years on my own," he stated to Mark Blake. "I believe in being open about this, and that led Stephen to believe that I'm bipolar. To the best of my knowledge, I am not bipolar. I can be a little up and down, but not the same extremes as manic depressives I have known. But I think it's helpful to talk about this, especially for men."

References

External links

*
Forum: BBC 2 - The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive
at stephenfry.com British television documentaries Stephen Fry 2006 television specials BBC television documentaries Bipolar disorder Documentaries about psychology {{BBC-tv-prog-stub

Celebrities featured

See also

References

External links