Actress Helen Flanagan might seem like she has it all, but the Corrie star turned TV personality has had to battle plenty of demons when it comes to both her physical and mental health.
She was first open about her health back in 2016, when she revealed that she had been diagnosed with ADHD and bipolar disorder.
In the years since, Helen has continued to document her mental and physical health crises. These include OCD and the debilitating pregnancy disorder, hyperemesis gravidarum.
As she gears up to appear on The Weakest Link this Saturday (October 18), here’s what to know about her health rollercoaster.
Helen Flanagan confirms bipolar and ADHD diagnoses
As previously mentioned, Helen first disclosed her ADHD and bipolar disorder publicly back in 2016. In an interview with The Sun, the Rosie Webster actress shared how her mental health took a dip as she starred in Coronation Street.
“One day I was driving into the ITV studios and I thought, wouldn’t it be great if I just crashed my car now and it was all over?” she recounted. “I’ve suffered from depression. It was the main reason I had to leave ‘Coronation Street. I was down and it was very intense – I don’t think I was very well.”
Following this incident, Helen went back on her ADHD and bipolar medication and attended weekly cognitive behavioural therapy.
A difficult pregnancy
Helen has three children with her ex-partner Scott Sinclair – Matilda, 10, Delilah, seven, and Charlie, four. In 2021, she revealed that with all of her pregnancies, she struggled with the condition hyperemesis gravidarum. Sick with a stomach bug, Helen reflected on her journey on her Instagram story, writing: “I had HG in all three pregnancies and when I have a sickness bug it does bring it all back,” she said. “HG is not morning sickness and it’s not something you can just get along with.”
She continued: “For me it lasted around three months. I can’t imagine what it’s like to last the whole pregnancy. The worst was 100% not being able to look after the girls.
“I remember I felt really emotional at my three-month scan and cried as it felt like I had such a mountain to climb, and that was nearing the end. I remember the nurse said to me it would calm down once the placenta was made.”
According to Helen, the HG got worse with each pregnancy, although in her case, it usually “calmed down” after the 12-week mark.
OCD and a psychotic episode
In 2024, she broke her months-long Instagram silence with a brave post about how she had a breakdown following her 2022 split from Scott.
“So basically I really struggled mental health wise December/January. I felt really not great in my head over Christmas and I didn’t really feel that much different when I took the kids away for new year,” she explained. As a result of feeling “terrible,” she explains that she took medication to try and feel better.
“I had a really bad reaction though to the medication (an ADHD medication) and it sent me into a psychosis for a few days which I didn’t know I was in,” she explained. Consequently, Helen wrote that she had to pull out of her role as Miss Scarlett in the UK tour of Cluedo 2.
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“I just love my kids so much,” she added. “This bad reaction, though, was a few days before rehearsals were starting, and sadly, I just wasn’t mentally well enough to do it.
“I was heartbroken as I’ve always been professional as an actress, but I needed to stay at home and feel better for me and my kids, with the help of my amazing parents.”
On the Life of Bryony podcast later that year, Helen also disclosed that she has OCD.
“I remember after I had Charlie, I didn’t think he was my baby,” she said. “He was born with like a lot of like dark hair and next to me in the ward there was this Asian couple, but I thought for some reason that the midwife must have swapped my baby because I was confused I had this baby with black hair but that obviously wasn’t the midwife, this was my OCD just playing up.”
Raising awareness of PMDD
In spring 2025, Helen explained in an Instagram post that she was struggling with premenstrual dysmorphic disorder (PMDD). PMDD is a severe of PMS that can lead to debilitating emotional crises. She shared that she felt as if she had “four personalities in one month”.
“The luteal phase for me can be the very worst,” she wrote. “I used to have very bad intense symptoms for about 10 days, severe depression/sadness, hopelessness, worthlessness, anxiety/OCD – so crippling I thought I was going mad, exhaustion, brain fog.”
While she had had these symptoms since she was 16, she had only recently been diagnosed with PMDD. Treatments like anti-depressants and the contraceptive pill didn’t work for her. However, Helen said she found success in tracking her cycles.
Later, in October 2025, Helen spoke to The Sun about a new remedy she found for her PMDD. The Golden Pill, offered by women’s health brand Elle Sera, has a number of ingredients. These include maca root extract, tribulus terrestris, ginkgo biloba, Siberian ginseng and beetroot extract. It’s advertised as a libido booster, but for Helen it has other benefits.
“I’ve always had a good sex drive. But I think it’s just made me feel stronger, more level, more balanced out. I haven’t felt the dramatic lows before my period,” she said. “My PMDD can be so extreme, so it really does depend on what’s going on in my life as well.”
Helen Flanagan’s allergic reaction
Back in June, Helen also had a physical health crisis, too.
Sharing her experience in an Instagram Story, her lips looked visibly swollen.
“So I’ve literally just picked up the kids from school, did the food shop today and Delilah was like: ‘Oh Mummy I want some cherries.’
“They were just playing in the garden, so I just cut some up and I thought, oh these cherries look nice, so I just had one and, honestly, straight away I was like…”
Helen then took her hand to her throat and started to cough: “This is really itchy here, my throat started itching and, like, my lips have literally, like they feel numb and really, really swollen.”
As she continued to cough, Helen added: “[I] never knew that I was allergic to cherries.”
The Weakest Link returns on Saturday (October 18) at 8:35pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
Read More: Helen Flanagan supported as she reveals all three of her children are unwell
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