Actress Sheridan Smith has revealed she was once banned from a flight for being 'too drunk', describing the experience as a 'nightmare'. The 44-year-old, who has spoken openly about her past struggles with alcohol, made the admission on Alan Carr's Life's a Beach podcast.
Smith, who now appears in BBC One's The Cage, told Carr she was travelling to Florida to watch a friend box when she was refused boarding. Whispering, she said: 'Too drunk.' A stunned Carr responded: 'Why? Too drunk. Oh God.'
She continued: 'I was too drunk. But I don't drink now, so I can say it now and I can look back and laugh. But at the time it was a nightmare because everyone else got on the flight. Oh my God, I was left there.'
Smith gave up drinking in 2019, noting that the 'bloat in my face had gone'. She has previously admitted to struggling with alcohol and mental health difficulties, particularly during her father Colin's battle with terminal cancer in 2016, which resurfaced trauma from her brother Julian's death from the same disease when she was a child.
Speaking to The Times, Smith said she felt 'very ashamed' of her behaviour during that period, adding: 'That's another thing I felt ashamed of - going off the rails when it was my dad who was suffering.' She also credited a quip from Graham Norton at the 2016 BAFTAs for helping her stop taking anti-anxiety medication.
Smith currently stars in The Cage on BBC One, playing casino employee Leanne who, along with a colleague, steals from their boss and becomes entangled with criminals. The series was filmed in Liverpool, which Smith described as her 'adopted' home.
