'My mother had talked about suicide often when I was little ...two of my sisters tried it'

WEST End star Ruthie Henshall has revealed she ended up terrified about her children's mental health, after seeing three family members threaten suicide.

- By Sue Crawford

The singer and actress, 58, was heartbroken when older sister Noel killed herself 18 years ago.

But now she has revealed that Noel's twin sister Susan also attempted suicide and that, when they were growing up, their mother talked about ending her life too.

Ruthie said: "Every time my children were down - and they really did have their downs - I was paralysed with this feeling, because my mother had talked about suicide when I was little.

"She was going to commit suicide - she said that often. My sister Susan tried it, my sister Noel tried it a few times.

"In my house people could do it and then did. For a while there I was absolutely terrified of my children. Every time they said, 'I don't want to be here'.

"I felt paralysed and then I would over-try and fix - get them therapy, get them this, get them that, figure out how to fix it. Because I've got to fix it. People do commit suicide in my world, or try."

Ruthie discussed the subject in a poignant interview with TV presenter Kaye Adams on her How to be 60 podcast.

The theatre star's sister Noel took her own life at the age of 49 in 2007. After suffering bouts of depression, she took a fatal overdose.

Former I'm a Celebrity contestant Ruthie, who has two daughters, aged 22 and 20, said that she still felt anger over her sister's death because the two had been very close as children.

Angry