'I'm A Celebrity' Winner Carl Fogarty Reveals Three-Year Battle With Depression, Says Advice From Dying Friend Helped Him Through

'For Three Years I Wanted To Forget Who I Was'
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I’m A Celebrity’ winner Carl Fogarty has spoken out about his three-year battle with depression.

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The former motorbike racing champion says he felt unfulfilled while taking part in his sport, claiming that it was the “winning” that he became hooked on rather than the racing itself.

“I now realise winning had become an unhealthy obsession. The more I won, the more I had to win, it was crazy. I created a monster, it was horrible. But that person has gone now and I can enjoy this.”

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Carl Fogarty

He went on to say that after an injury forced him to retire from motorbike racing in 2000, he fell into a depression, saying: “For three years I wanted to forget who I was. I was depressed because I could no longer do the thing I was good at.

“I used to read stuff about Paul Gascoigne and Frank Bruno and I could easily see how they ended up not in a good place.

“Going into my trophy room at home was torture - a constant reminder of what I couldn’t do any more.”

Foggy has also revealed that it was the advice of his dying best friend, Mark Winstanley, that helped him beat his depression.

“He said to get out there and celebrate what I created for motorcycling, and I think that’s why I probably ended up doing the show. When he died it left a massive hole, but what he said was kind of the kick up the a**e I needed. This show has come at a really good time for me.”