Chizzy Akudolu suffered a "massive" low with her depression following her exit from 'Strictly Come Dancing'.
Chizzy Akudolu
The 44-year-old actress was first diagnosed with depression during her time on 'Holby City', but Chizzy revealed she reached a nadir when she was starring on the BBC dancing competition last year.
During an appearance on ITV's 'Loose Women', Chizzy explained to her fellow panelists: "I do suffer from depression. I'm not ashamed to say that at all. It's not something I asked for. It's something I'm dealing with, I'm still on anti-depressants.
"I have therapy. I had quite a bit of therapy after 'Strictly'. I just want to say that the show did offer me a therapist, I said, 'No I'll be fine, it's just a show, just a show'. I did hit a massive low with my depression after 'Strictly'."
Chizzy was diagnosed with the condition years ago, but she's always tried to play it down.
The actress - who plays surgeon Mo Effanga on 'Holby City' - shared: "I was diagnosed about three and a half years ago. I think there's been something there, but I've just always gone, everything's fine!"
However, she struggled to come to terms with the embarrassment of becoming the first celebrity to be voted off 'Strictly' in 2017.
Chizzy said: "There was a bit of embarrassment and there's all these plans you have in your head of future dances. And I've wanted to do the show for so long, and to get to do it, and I was getting fitter, and then for it suddenly just to be taken away, it was crushing.
"It was my birthday the following Saturday. Who gets to dance on 'Strictly' on their birthday? Well, not me!"
In fact, Chizzy felt so ashamed that she even offered an apology to her professional partner Pasha Kovalev.
She explained: "I apologised to him, he's never been out that early. He's never been out first."