Singer Russell Watson has revealed he was still playing with toy soldiers at the age of 18.
The former I’m A Celebrity star said he was wrapped up in cotton wool by his mum so much that he acted like a kid.
Russell, 55, admitted: “At the age of 16 I was massively immature, probably predominantly because my mother over-protected me so much.
“I think it was born from the fact that she was one of three children and both brothers were mentally handicapped. She was so worried when I was born that something would go wrong.
“When I got my first bike, all the other kids were riding around here, there and everywhere and I was only allowed to go to the bottom of the street.
(Image: The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Images)
“So many things I wasn’t allowed to watch on TV. I was wrapped up in cotton wool.
“So by the age of 18, I was still like a child, still playing with soldiers!
“In many respects it was lovely, because I felt this massive bubble of protection around me.
“But when I entered the big wide world and got my first job at age 17… oh my god. I was not ready for it.”
(Image: Twitter)
In an interview in the new edition of The Big Issue, Russell also told how he didn’t realise he suffered from PTSD after he was recovering from his 2006 brain tumour.
He said: “If I could give myself advice about coping with my health, I’d say speak to people about how you’re feeling. With the second tumour, I basically went to bed and didn’t wake up the next morning. I was rushed into hospital.
(Image: Getty Images)
“For about two years after that the last thing going through my mind before I went to sleep every night was, I hope I’m not going to die tonight. And I’d wake up in the middle of the night with panics and palpitations.
“These finally dissipated and I spoke to my consultant endocrinologist, and I said to her, ‘It’s such a great feeling, to have finally stopped thinking about death every night.’
“And she said, ‘What do you mean? My god, you clearly had post-traumatic stress disorder – why didn’t you speak to anyone?’
“I said, ‘I just thought it was normal.’”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
