Roman Kemp says mum Shirlie 'saved him' from suicide as a struggling teenager

Roman Kemp has told how his mum “saved him” from suicide as a struggling teenager.

The TV and radio star, 28, credits Shirlie Holliman for making him open up – and revealed he has been taking ­antidepressants since he was 15.

But he said he never spoke to his Spandau Ballet star dad Martin Kemp about his issues as he feared he would not understand.

In a BBC documentary about mental health, Roman said he reached a low point in his late teens.

“My mum saved my life,” he said. “She made me open up so much as a kid and made me talk to her and literally forced me to tell her how I was feeling."

Romap Kemp has opened up about his past mental health struggles (BBC)

He added: “I talked to her about the lowest point I’ve been in and about having thoughts I shouldn’t be having.

"What I realised is these are quite common thoughts that one in four men have. She pulled me out of that when I was at my absolute low.”

Roman was spurred into making the film about the growing number of mental health struggles being faced by young men after losing his best friend, producer Joe Lyons, last year.

He admitted to being “terrified” about opening up, fearing it would harm his career, but felt he owed it to his friend.

Roman Kemp says his mum Shirlie Holliman saved him from suicide as a teen (WireImage)

Roman said: “I had no idea he was struggling. For a long time I felt a lot of anger. That’s your best friend. That’s your brother. I’ve this huge thing where I was like, why didn’t you pick up the phone?”

He admitted: “It’s something I have never truly opened up to my dad about. Just that fear he would
not understand.

“But I’m so lucky – he is still so there for me. Still tells me he loves me every day.”

In the film he speaks to youngsters who have lost friends to depression and accompanies medics on calls to teenagers as young as 13.

Roman's dad Martin has since said he's 'proud' of his some for speaking out about mental health (Instagram)

Roman is calling for lessons on the subject after learning that 50% of schools do not have any form of counselling for struggling children.

“This needs to be in schools from kindergarten, let alone GCSE PSHE lessons,” he said.

“If I get one message that says, ‘Cheers, mate, that really helped,’ you’ve won.”

• Roman Kemp: Our Silent Emergency, BBC1, Tuesday, 9pm (BBC3 from 6am).

* Samaritans (116 123) operates a 24-hour service available every day of the year. If you prefer to write down how you’re feeling, or if you’re worried about being overheard on the phone, you can email Samaritans at jo@samaritans.org