Waterloo Road star opens up on secret 20-year heroin addiction and admits 'it was the biggest mistake'

Waterloo Road star Richard Mylan has opened up about his secret 20-year heroin addiction , saying he wanted to go public with his struggle to help reduce the 'stigma'. The 48-year-old actor, best known for playing deputy headteacher Simon Lowsley in the hit BBC drama, said he used to be a 'functioning professional addict'.

He acknowledged the admission could hamper his career, but insisted: "I don’t care about that any more." Richard said he’s been in recovery for 10 years, and his addiction began at the start of his acting career when he was performing in London theatres.

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He said it was the 'biggest mistake I ever made', and said he was battling 'crippling anxiety' as he began his career. "I was in the West End from a young age and there was lots of alcohol and recreational drugs and that cemented certain negative behaviours,” he told BBC Wales.

Richard said she battled a “cycle of abuse” of getting clean and using drugs, and he was at his “absolute lowest”. "My personal relationships suffered, my work relationships suffered and it robbed me of my inner ambition," he said, confessing it “took chunks of my life away from me”.

After celebrating 10 years clean, he now wants to “challenge the stigma” of addiction, as he believes it will help other addicts recover. “Stigma has kept me from talking until now. Being in recovery doesn't define you and each step forward is a step towards who you really are. My recovery felt a journey back to me,” he said.

“What I care about is challenging our empathy response as a society,” the married father of two explained. “There are so many people out there who would never ever