Sheridan Smith breaks down over father's death in ITV documentary
Sheridan Smith: Coming Home saw the BAFTA winning actor tear up as she sang about her late father
In highly emotional scenes which aired on Sunday night, Sheridan Smith began to cry as she sang a song dedicated to her father, who died of cancer last year.
After visiting her old home, the Cilla star, 37, became emotional, breaking down in tears.
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Discussing the difficult time in her life, Smith explained, “I kind of lost it a bit after [my dad] died. I’ve come out the other side now and I need to get it all out through my music. Especially in the public, it looks like I’ve moaned about everything with my Dad dying but that’s not the case, I just had a massive meltdown."
Smith was starring in West End musical Funny Girl at the time, but chose to drop out of the role in order to spend more time with her father after his diagnosis.
Her parents, who were also both singers, initially encouraged her to return to the Savoy Theatre for the rest of the run, but she found herself struggling.
“I went back and I got on the train to do the show and I thought, ‘I can’t do it’, it just felt so weird like, ‘How can I be here taking applause?’
“I just thought ‘I want to be sat with my dad, sat on his chair cuddling him. I ran away from that, I ran away from that situation.”
"My mum was like, ‘Well, you’ve got to get back, you’ve got the show, you can’t let people down’ and rightly so.
“I know what she is saying, people had bought tickets a year in advance and I hate letting people down.”
The documentary also saw Smith perform an intimate gig at the Bentley Top Club in Doncaster, the stage where her parents previously performed.
The Bafta-winning actress has more recently turned her attention to music, releasing her debut album A Northern Soul – which is also explored in the documentary.
Speaking ahead of its release, she explained, “Filming this documentary has been an incredible emotional rollercoaster. Re-visiting old haunts and finally performing at the Bentley Top Club where my parents featured regularly has been a very therapeutic experience and has made me realise just how important my roots, family and friends are.”
Sheridan Smith: Coming Home is now available to watch on the ITV Hub
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