Sheridan Smith admits she 'self-medicated' to cope with death of father but denies ever being drunk on stage

Sheridan Smith has denied being drunk on stage during performances of Funny Girl, but has admitted to “self-medicating” to help her cope with the death of her father.

The award-winning British actress said that her world “fell apart” last year and she struggled to cope while playing the lead role in the West End show.

Smith pulled out of three performances of the show following her father’s death, after reports by some audiences members that she had been ‘slurring’ on stage.

“My life was falling apart. And I didn't tell anyone,” she said in a candid interview with the Sunday Times.

“I was totally terrified that I was going to come unstuck, that I couldn’t hold these feelings of insecurity in much longer without it coming to a head, which it did last year.”

Smith added: “My dad getting cancer triggered it, but it had been a long time coming.”

The actress said she started suffering from “anxiety” following her star turn in Legally Blonde, which prompted Dustin Hoffman to cast her in his film Quartet.

“Suddenly I started suffering from anxiety. I’m there on the set of Quartet with Dustin Hoffman, Maggie Smith and Michael Gambon, for God’s sake, and I was really anxious,” she said.

“People assume you’re on a roll, because it’s all so exciting, but you’re constantly worrying that you’re not going to be as good as people think you should be.”

Smith has recently re-joined the Funny Girl cast for the touring production of the show and is gearing up to release her debut album.