Strictly star says 'it nearly killed me' as he opens up on tragic booze battle

Hollywood star Greg Wise has opened up about the struggles that came with caring for his dying sister and the impact it had on him at the time. For the final three months of her life, the former Strictly star became a full-time carer for his older sister Clare who died in 2016 at the age of 51 from bone cancer.

At the time, his life turned upside down with the dad-of-one swiftly moving into his sister's flat so he could bathe her, reposition her and dose her up with strong opiates to manage the extreme care she was suffering. But the impact of becoming a full-time carer had a negative impact on the Sense and Sensibility star. On Tuesday (July 22), the 59-year-old joined Kate Garraway and Ed Balls on Good Morning Britain where he discussed the protests going on in Westminster today.

As hundreds of carers protested outside government to fight to change the lack of paid respite care available in the UK, the TV star shared his traumatising ordeal while caring for his eldest sister.

Reflecting on his time as a carer, he confessed: "I was a 24/7 carer for my sister Clare as she was dying from bone cancer. I did it for three months, it nearly killed me.

"I feel and a lot of studies have been done on carers. Carers start to mirror the people their caring for, it's called compassion fatigue, or carers fatigue, and of course, it's understandable.

"You become anxious, you become isolated, you are fearful, you can become depressed, you can start self-medicating." When Kate quizzed him to see if he battled with self-medicating during that difficult period, he confessed: "I did.

"I got into a bit of a problem with the booze. I managed to get off it, but you find yourself in a place where you are so completely alone."

This is a breaking live TV story, the Showbiz Express.co.ukteam will be updating this story with the latest information as soon as we receive it. For further updates, please refresh the page

Get all the very best news, pictures, opinion and video on your favourite TV shows by following Express.co.uk every time you see our name.

• Follow Express on Google News -CLICK HERE

• Follow Express on Apple News -_ CLICK HERE__ available on Apple devices_

• Follow Express on _Flipboard - _CLICK HERE and click follow

You can also sign up for Twitter alerts for breaking news and all the latest updates by following@Daily_Express, or for the latest TV and showbiz news, follow @expressceleb

Keep up-to-date with your must-see TV stories, features, videos and pictures throughout the day by following us on Facebook at Express Celebrity