Celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal has opened up about his bipolar diagnosis after it was announced he'd taken on a new role as an official ambassador for Bipolar UK.
Following his diagnosis with the condition in November 2023, the 58-year-old restaurateur hopes to change perceptions about bipolar disorder through his new position with the mental health charity.
Since speaking publicly about his diagnosis, Blumenthal has received thousands of messages from people living with bipolar.
According to Bipolar UK, the condition is characterised by sometimes extreme changes in mood and energy and carries the highest risk of suicide of any mental health condition.
Blumenthal revealed during a televised interview on Friday morning that he experienced hallucinations as part of his condition.
"I thought the TV was talking to me," he explained during an interview with Naga Munchetty and Charlie Stayt.
Heston Blumenthal has bravely opened up about handling his bipolar diagnosis
BBC
He also hallucinated "a gun on the table" and had suicidal thoughts.
His wife Melanie Ceysson had him sectioned in late November 2023 when his symptoms became severe.
"Being sectioned was the greatest thing that could happen to me," Blumenthal told the presenting duo.
He continued: "For her, it was really difficult because she had to decide how I would take it.
Heston Blumenthal during an episode of The Graham Norton Show in 2011
PA
"My response was I embraced it but I never thought I'd be diagnosed with being bipolar.
"At the time, I thought the highs and the lows were normal, but they weren't, and they weren't right for me and they weren't right for the people around who cared for me."
The chef was subsequently admitted to hospital for treatment of his condition. The chef, famous for his experimental dishes, said medication he initially took for bipolar severely affected his creativity.
"When I first came out of hospital the medications were so strong I was zombified – I had no energy at all," he told PA.
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Blumenthal explained that the powerful medication dulled his culinary imagination.
"I sort of got tired of cooking, and after my hospitalisation, I spent the last year stabilising from it with the medication," he said.
He recalled that during manic episodes before diagnosis, his creativity was at extreme levels.
"Looking back I can remember during my manic highs I was interrupting myself with ideas."
Blumenthal now says his creativity is returning as his medication has been adjusted.
"As my medications have been changed and my levels of self-confidence and self-awareness have gone up I realise my imagination and creativity is still there," he told PA.
"I had lost my flow of things in the kitchen but it's coming back – I have more clarity, I'm more lucid, and I'm thinking more clearly."
The three-Michelin-starred chef runs several award-winning restaurants, including The Fat Duck in Bray, Berkshire.
Heston Blumenthal spoke to Charlie Stayt and Naga Munchetty on Friday's BBC Breakfast
BBC
"I'm now more involved with The Fat Duck than I've been for a long time," he said.
In his new ambassadorial role, Blumenthal emphasised the importance of early diagnosis for people living with bipolar disorder. "I was diagnosed about 15 months ago but I realise I've had it for years," Blumenthal said.
"Diagnosis is so crucial because it changes the perceptions of the people around you and it also helps you to understand your behaviour."
Bipolar UK estimates more than a million adults in the UK have bipolar disorder, around 30 percent more than the number of people with dementia. The charity believes at least half a million more people remain undiagnosed.
Blumenthal previously received a positive assessment for ADHD in 2017. Blumenthal has credited the support of his wife, along with medication and therapy, for helping him manage his condition.
Simon Kitchen, chief executive of Bipolar UK, said: "It's an honour to have Heston onboard as an ambassador."
The chef is renowned for pioneering multi-sensory cooking and his experimental dishes, such as snail porridge, and bacon and egg ice cream.
His restaurant The Fat Duck was named the world's best by the World's 50 Best Restaurants in 2005.
