One of the stars of Adolescence, Ashley Walters, has opened up about his struggle with alcohol in the past. He confessed to being a “functioning alcoholic” while filming drama Top Boy.
Ashley, who plays Luke Bascombe in the latest Netflix miniseries, has been vocal about his alcohol battle and its impact on his life. However, the 42-year-old actor he has now been sober for half a decade.
Ashley Walters was a ‘functioning alcoholic’ during Top Boy
The actor struggled with alcohol use for years, and he was reliant on booze when starring in Top Boy.
He was played Dushane alongside Kane Robinson’s character Sully in the hit Channel 4 crime drama.
During his conversation on the GRM Daily podcast Thoughts in a Culli, Ashley admitted to drinking throughout the day, even when he was on set.
The Adolescence star confessed: “I was drinking from morning to night. I was waking up at seven. If I wake up, I’m drinking.”
Mouthwash has got alcohol in it, I’d drink that if I needed to.
He continued: “I was a functioning alcoholic. There were a lot of times you guys would have seen me on Top Boy waving [drunk] or I would have come in very hungover.”
When asked if his co-star, Kano, was aware of his struggle with alcohol, Ashley replied: “Yeah, I think so, we discussed it. When the time came that I had to get the help that I needed, it was whilst we were filming, actually.”
However, without citing the exact reason for his leave of absence, Ashley stepped away from the show for a while to get better. He explained: “I just had to say to producers and to everyone, I need to go away. I didn’t say what for, I just said, I need to go away, and I went away for about four or five weeks and just cleansed myself.”
He would drink mouthwash
Ashley’s alcohol addiction had gotten so out of hand that he would drink mouthwash in desperation. “Mouthwash has got alcohol in it, I’d drink that if I needed to,” he admitted.
Ultimately, the actor blames himself for his addiction. He said: “Alcoholism is not about the drink. Addiction is not about the drug or the thing that you choose to be addicted to.”
Ashley added: “It’s about you. I’d be out in spaces, and I’m like, how come everyone can talk to each other and have conversations happily, laugh, joke, and whatever, and I can’t?”
However, he decided to turn his life around when alcoholism took a toll on his family.
The actor noted: “The day I decided to get help was the day my six-year old daughter at the time knocked on my bedroom door and said she didn’t want me to live there any more.”
He enrolled in a rehab for four weeks and “came out a better man”.
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