EastEnders and Hollyoaks actor Richard Blackwood has recalled his suicidal rock-bottom back in 2003.
The actor, 48, revealed how he'd bought a gun during a battle with depression.
He'd also become bankrupt and intended to end his own life.
During a bravely honest Instagram interview, Richard said that for years, only a handful of people knew about what he'd been through.
"I tried to shoot myself. I went to pull the trigger," he admitted.
"In terms of the suicide and only the people that were there really know.
"I don't have it now and it's way past, I tried to shoot myself."
Richard went on to describe how his ex-girlfriend, Samia Stokes, had slapped the gun from his hand and saved his life.
"I had a strap [gun]," he continued, "and I went to pull the trigger and someone with me at the time hit it out of my hand.
"How she stopped me from doing it, is that she picked it up and goes, 'I'll shoot myself at first and then shoot you.'
"And that's how she stopped me. That's the truth.
"People don't really know that. It wasn't no idiot way, I put it in my mouth."
Richard told that Samia had caught him trying to take his own life after she believed she had talked him out of suicide.
He asked her to get him a drink, but she realised what he was doing, ran back into the room and "knocked it out of my hand before I pulled it".
"And that was it," Richard said, "that is what happened."
He previously told The Sun how bankruptcy hit him hard after a string of successes early on in his career.
"When I was made bankrupt it was hard," he remembered, "because I was one of the first young guys from the MTV era to be deemed to have it all and then to lose it all.
"I was depressed, I was suicidal. It was very real for me back then."
If you're struggling and need to talk, the Samaritans operates a free helpline open 24/7 on 116 123. Alternatively, you can email Jo@samaritans.org if you'd prefer to write down how you feel. You are not alone.
