In 2008, Phillip Schofield interviewed Kerry Katona. She says it left her 'suicidal'.

This story discusses suicidal thoughts and might be triggering for some readers. 

It's an interview that is hard to forget. 

It was 2008 and former Atomic Kitten singer and reality TV star Kerry Katona appeared on This Morning to be interviewed by Phillip Schofield and his then co-host, Fern Britton.

During the chat, Schofield accused Katona, a mother of five and recovering drug addict, of "slurring her words" in front of a live television audience. 

"Your speech is a bit slurred, how are you feeling right now? Our phone is already going off up in the gallery from people asking is she ok," he said.

When Katona tried to respond, Schofield said: "We are merely pointing out someone who is very different from a few years ago."

Watch: Kerry Katona breaks silence on the 2008 interview with Phillip Schofield. Post continues after video.

Katona, now 42, has since revealed it was an experience she almost didn't recover from. 

Back in 2021, she told Marnie's Home Truths in 2021 that she was actually struggling with bipolar disorder, and her presentation and speech were due to the medication she was taking for that. 

She said: "That was pure bipolar medication. Coke doesn't make you slur. I was never a really big drinker if I'm brutally honest. It was always the drugs for me."

Kerry Katona during the interview in This Morning with Phillip Schofield. Image: This Morning/ITV.

"I've got no reason to lie that that wasn't drugs – if it was, why would I say it wasn't? It was pure bipolar medication."

And now, in the wake of Schofield's affair scandal, Katona has once again reflected on the traumatic interview.

Appearing on GB News yesterday, she told host Dan Wootton: "I don't think people understand what that interview did to me emotionally."

"When I got home after that interview it was like a crime scene. There were reporters, camera crews, paparazzi. ITV never reached out to me and said, 'Kerry, can we help you in any way. Can you explain to us what bipolar is and what's the medication that you're on.'

"Even now, when I go back to ITV – which isn't very often – there is a sense of snobbery. I feel like I have to impress them, I can't slur."

Breaking down in tears, she went on: "Even now, when I look at that video, I feel so ashamed and so hard done by, even now. For 10 years, I’ve had to justify myself."

Katona said the backlash even made her consider taking her own life.

"Next day, front page of the papers, 'Sherry Kerry', 'Merry Kerry'. It was just awful. I was suicidal. I wanted to die, I wanted to kill myself. It was everywhere," she said. 

Katona who has now been sober for over 14 years said she lost work in the aftermath of the interview. 

Speaking about Schofield's "unwise" but "not illegal" affair with a young employee who he first met as a teen, Katona said: "I didn't know [about the affair]. There were always rumours. I know his wife, my heart goes out to her," and, "I met the young runner several times, lovely lad."

If you think you may be experiencing depression or another mental health problem, please contact your general practitioner. If you're based in Australia, 24-hour support is available through Lifeline on 13 11 14 or beyondblue on 1300 22 4636.

Feature Image: ITV/Getty/Mamamia.