Roman Kemp has left his dad Martin ‘worried’ over the impact that his mental health campaigning could have on his son.
TV presenter Roman has been open about his own mental health issues. In 2021, he fronted a documentary Our Silent Emergency, that saw Roman reveal he once came close to attempting suicide.
This film also addressed the grief he felt after the 2020 death of his close friend and radio producer Joe Lyons, who took his own life.
Since then, Roman has been keen to encourage young people to speak about their mental wellbeing.
However, his dad Martin has now shared his ‘worries’ over Roman.
Roman Kemp’s dad Martin reveals’‘worries’
Roman is an advocate for raising awareness for mental health – and has been candid about his own battles over the years.
I worry about you doing this, I worry about it
In his documentary, he revealed that he has battled depression for more than 10 years. He also went to Parliament in a bid to try and secure more funding for child mental health services.
But during their latest podcast episode, Roman’s father Martin shared his concerns over Roman and the impact that his mental health campaigning could have on him.
“I worry about you doing this, I worry about it. Because I know that, from being an actor, that when you convince yourself and talk about things so much that it would come down heavily on you, on your psychological health.
“That’s what I worry about from you doing this,” Martin said on his podcast, FFS! My dad is Martin Kemp.
Roman recalls ‘traumatic experience’
Martin went on: “I appreciate you doing it, and I think what you’re doing is great, but I worry about the effects on you.”
Roman then shared that his struggles came from ‘a traumatic experience’ following the death of Joe.
Reliving the trauma actually helps me
“Reliving the trauma actually helps me. Like, the more I talk about it, the more it dilutes the story and you become semi-detached,” he said.
“It becomes what happens to you in your life. You’re more likely to understand that that was in the past, that’s happened,” Roman added.
Roman Kemp on mental health
The One Show host Roman advocates for teaching children about mental health early.
“Talking about mental health needs to start earlier than when we get to 16 and we’re doing PSHE,” he said in a 2022 interview. “It has to be engrained into lessons and schools… as early as possible.”
In a Channel 4 interview, he shared: “I’ve dealt with suicidal thoughts. I’ve been on antidepressants for 15 years of my life. It’s so important to talk about it because those conversations save lives.”
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