Ben Miller, star of Death in Paradise and Bridgerton, has revealed the details of his long battle with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), a condition he once found 'unmanageable and unpredictable'. The 60-year-old actor and comedian spoke about his experiences in 2024, relating them to his role as Professor T, a criminologist with OCD.
Struggles in his twenties
Miller admitted: 'I did struggle a lot with OCD, particularly in my twenties, and I'm very lucky in that it's all very manageable now. But there were times where it was unmanageable, as it is for Professor T, so I know how that feels and I know how I dealt with it.'
He described his OCD as 'quite a mathematical one', explaining: 'I have quite a mathematical mind and sometimes that goes a little bit into overdrive.' Miller also spoke about the rituals he performed: 'I thought if I touched an object a certain number of times, then bad things won't happen. Of course it doesn't work – I constantly had to amplify my behaviours to try and reduce my anxiety.'
Panic attacks and treatment
The condition also triggered panic attacks. Miller said: 'I don't know what triggers it for me. It can happen any time of day or night and it can literally happen during a conversation. It doesn't seem to follow any pattern. I've never woken up in the morning and thought: I'm going to have a panic attack today. I always seem to be surprised by them.'
To manage his symptoms, Miller underwent cognitive behavioural therapy and reflexology, and took the herb ashwagandha. He explained: 'I still have anxiety. What I've noticed is that if those behaviours come back, I don't really panic about them any more. I just think, OK, my anxiety's up so I need to do more to relieve it: meditation, exercise, listening to music, and the biggest one of all – feeling the anxiety, not trying to escape or control it. At the end of the day, the anxious feelings don't last that long if you walk into them.'
Other health scares
Miller also faced other health issues while filming Death in Paradise in 2010. He suffered heat stroke and had a bizarre incident with an insect. He recalled: 'One was, what a lot of people got, which was heat stroke – it does send you slightly crazy. And because I was wearing a wool suit, at one point, in the middle of the scene, I tried to rip all my clothes off and run into the sea.'
On another occasion, an insect flew into his ear during a scene, requiring a doctor to remove it with tweezers. Miller said: 'I couldn't carry on filming because it was like someone was tickling inside your ear; it was one of the weirdest experiences. I literally went a bit crazy, sort of jumping around, and then I ran off.'
