Will Mellor admits he turned to alcohol after his father Bill’s death

Will Mellor has revealed he turned to drink after his father’s death.

The actor, 44, said he started to ‘drink more than he ate’ after losing his dad Bill in April, before revealing it was ‘horrendous’ being unable to even hug him as he was hospitalised during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Earlier this year Will shared an emotional video with fans revealing his father had passed away after being rushed to hospital in March, but later clarified his death wasn’t a result of COVID-19.

Will told New! magazine: ‘It was really tough. It’s been the hardest year. My dad passed away in April, so I was struggling with a lot of stuff. 

‘I probably drank more than I ate. I was getting through lockdown with wine and beer, and then realised that wasn’t a good idea, so I started to get into fitness.’

Will added that he began doing on walks with his wife Michelle and their two children Jayden, 16, and Renee, 12, and began to focus on improving his mental health.

The Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps star went onto describe the ‘horrendous’ feeling of being unable to hug his dad after learning he’d been diagnosed with cancer.

He added: ‘And the last thing he said to me was, ”If I got hold of you I wouldn’t be able to let you go.” He went two weeks later.’

In April Will shared an emotional video with fans revealing his father had passed away after being hospitalised in March.

The actor didn’t reveal his father’s cause of death in the clip, which he captioned ‘worst week of my life’, but confirmed in a later post that it wasn’t as a result of COVID-19.

In the heartbreaking video filmed in his garden, Will said: ‘It’s just the hardest time. It’s horrendous. What do you do when you lose your hero?

‘I also know there are a lot of people who are going through this out there. I just want you to know I feel your pain.

‘We’ve just got to try and stick together and get through it. Try and remember the good times. If you think about my dad, remember the good times.

‘That’s what I’m going to do, and we’ll get through this. That’s it.’ 

Will then appeared on Loose Women in May, saying his family had been ‘ripped apart’ by Bill’s death. 

Talking about the moment his dad fell ill, Will revealed: ‘I got a phone call out of the blue that he collapsed, he’d had a seizure.

‘Then he got taken in, then they found a mass on his lung and it had gone to his brain, and that was what was causing the seizure, and it was cancer. He died within two weeks.

‘It just ripped us apart, especially in these circumstances. It’s never a good time to lose somebody like that.’

Explaining that the lockdown restrictions only made things worse for the family, he added: ‘I couldn’t even hug him or hug my mum.

‘I had to go round there and break down in the corner of the garden. My sister was in the other corner, just a really, really tough time. It just made a hard time even harder.’

Will added that he had been unable to hug his father in the hospital before his untimely death, but took comfort in knowing his dad had lived a happy life.

The star recalled: ‘[Dad] said to me a lot, “When I go, don’t be too upset, I’ve had a great life…”

‘That’s what is keeping me together, the memories. I’m glad I had those things with him and that’s where I’ll be getting my strength from in the future.’