Horizon

Alastair Campbell: Depression and Me (2019x2)

Air date: May 21, 2019

In an intensely personal and often surprising film for BBC Two, Alastair Campbell candidly talks about his experience living with depression and explores if radical new treatments can make a difference. Alastair is best known for his role as Tony Blair’s formidable and often contentious spin doctor, but, away from the public eye, he has been dogged by crippling bouts of depression for most of his life. Some days, just getting out of bed is too hard. Therapy and anti-depressant medication is helping him keep his head above water, but is that really the best he can hope for? Encouraged by his family, Alastair sets out on a journey to explore if cutting edge science can offer him - and the millions of people like him - the hope of one day living depression-free. As he tries to understand his depression better, he also reflects on key events in his life and asks if they could have had a negative effect on his mind.