Where is tony slattery

And was his tendency to say yes to all jobs also part of his bipolar nature? But I lost the plot and the money. Slattery survived this period, just, thanks to the steadfast loyalty of his long-term partner, the actor Mark Michael Hutchinson, whom he met while performing in Me and My Girl in the mids. The two are still very much together, living in Edgware with their cat, and talking about Hutchinson prompts a juddering sob from Slattery.

Until very recently, Slattery always refused to discuss his personal life or even confirm his sexuality. I ask if he was shielding his parents, both of whom are now dead.

I just knew Mum and Dad would worry themselves to death that I might have Aids. But it was just not talked about. Slattery grew up on a council estate in north-west London, the youngest of five children and the son of working-class Irish immigrants.

He was a quiet child and very close to his parents. He was also a gifted athlete, at one point representing England in under judo, and an even more talented student, acing his A-levels to get into Cambridge and study modern and medieval languages.

So you find your friends, and I went there to enjoy everything Cambridge could throw at me. But Branagh comes from a working-class Northern Irish background, I say.

I laugh, but he looks down, guilty about teasing Branagh. And yet he says he had a happy childhood, a happy teenage life, a happy university experience, was doing the thing he loved as an adult. Obviously, none of those things is a bulwark against mental illness, but where did the rage come from?

Slattery makes a deep, shuddery sigh. We sit in silence for a few seconds. I ask if he ever told his parents and he is so overcome at the thought he can only shake his head. Also, Mark cut my hair yesterday really well! I still look like George Bernard Shaw and Rasputin because of the beard, but the top is okay. One of the reactions to the interview was that a documentary crew got in touch with him, suggesting that they film him being treated by mental health professionals. But it may be a good thing to have done.

But, mmmm, have you seen the documentary? OK, ummm, can I ask what you thought of it? It is clear that none of the scenes were set up, but, because Slattery is so honest, every moment is strikingly revealing. In one scene, he meets Stephen Fry , whom he has known since they were at Cambridge together. Gorgeous to see you! You know I would walk a thousand miles in tight shoes over broken glass to please you!

Sometimes, I think maybe one of the problems was that Slattery was just too good for showbiz. Slattery is in the documentary as he is in life: as open and vulnerable as a freshly peeled orange. In another scene, he and Hutchinson talk to Prof Ciaran Mulholland , a consultant psychiatrist. In all my exchanges with Slattery, he has always been as gentle as a cloud. But suddenly, in response to Mulholland, we see the anger that Slattery was notorious for in the s, distorting his usually soft features.

By the end, Slattery is crying. But does it have to happen in the public eye? Perhaps: Slattery is an innate performer, so maybe the only way he could start to speak about it was after he was directly asked by the media. I ask him what he thinks about people who worry he is being exploited.

This is Slattery being solicitous, anxious that I must never feel any concern on his account, even — maybe especially — when I should.

But it is also him being proud: one of the many reasons he struggled to talk about the abuse for so long is he has a horror of being seen as a victim. Please, why, after all this time, why?

I ask if he ever thinks about naming his abuser or the institution where it happened. That is my current thinking. God, what am I turning into? Has he sprayed it with bleach? When he deflects into jokes and impressions, it means we need to move on.

And so we move on. Happily, the documentary rectifies this oversight, and the love the two men have for one another — Slattery still swooning over photos of Hutchinson from when they met in the 80s — makes for some of the most emotional moments in the show.

Molly dealt with, I ask Hutchinson if he thinks Slattery has changed in the past year. But by the end of last year, for the first time in a long time, I could see the old Tony. The two men got together when Slattery was a dazzling rising star. Gorgeous to see you! You know I would walk a thousand miles in tight shoes over broken glass to please you!

Sometimes, I think maybe one of the problems was that Slattery was just too good for showbiz. Slattery is in the documentary as he is in life: as open and vulnerable as a freshly peeled orange. In another scene, he and Hutchinson talk to Prof Ciaran Mulholland, a consultant psychiatrist. In all my exchanges with Slattery, he has always been as gentle as a cloud.

But suddenly, in response to Mulholland, we see the anger that Slattery was notorious for in the 90s, distorting his usually soft features. By the end, Slattery is crying.

But does it have to happen in the public eye? Perhaps: Slattery is an innate performer, so maybe the only way he could start to speak about it was after he was directly asked by the media. I ask him what he thinks about people who worry he is being exploited. This is Slattery being solicitous, anxious that I must never feel any concern on his account, even — maybe especially — when I should.

But it is also him being proud: one of the many reasons he struggled to talk about the abuse for so long is he has a horror of being seen as a victim. Please, why, after all this time, why? I ask if he ever thinks about naming his abuser or the institution where it happened.

That is my current thinking. God, what am I turning into? Has he sprayed it with bleach? When he deflects into jokes and impressions, it means we need to move on. And so we move on. Happily, the documentary rectifies this oversight, and the love the two men have for one another — Slattery still swooning over photos of Hutchinson from when they met in the 80s — makes for some of the most emotional moments in the show.

Molly dealt with, I ask Hutchinson if he thinks Slattery has changed in the past year. But by the end of last year, for the first time in a long time, I could see the old Tony.