Comedian Rob Beckett reveals he had suicidal thoughts and says ‘all comedians are broken’

It was while comedian Rob Beckett was with Romesh Ranganathan in South Africa filming their show Rob and Romesh Vs that he found himself struggling with his mental health. In an interview with The Guardian, Rob Beckett said: “I had all the markers of a successful person, but I was having suicidal thoughts.” 

Rob Beckett’s agent encouraged him to seek therapy and he had six-months of sessions. In his interview with The Guardian, Rob Beckett also reflected on the lives of comedians and said: “all comedians are broken” in some way because “there’s got to be something wrong that drives us to achieve.”

On the podcast Parenting Hell, which he co-hosts with Josh Widdicombe, Rob Beckett reflected on how he was diagnosed with dyslexia at the age of 38. The diagnosis came about when Rob Beckett discovered he wasn’t helping his daughter with her homework, but hindering her. 

Rob Beckett also discussed his difficulties at school and said: . “I was told I was thick and that I wasn’t trying, but I was trying 10 times harder than the others in the class.”

Rob Beckett has been married to Louise Watts (a former history teacher) since 2015  The couple have two daughters together and Rob sometimes shares photographs of them on social media. He spoke about Louise in an interview with The Guardian back in 2021 and said: “Before lockdown, I was working all day on TV shows and doing tour shows in the evening and I’d been to LA, South Africa and Paris before January. I was never home and Lou had to do everything  which wasn’t good for her or me.”

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This year’s BAFTA Television awards were hosted by Rob Beckett and  Romesh Ranganathan who also hosted the awards in 2023.

If you have been affected by issues relating to suicide, you can contact The Samaritans for free on 116 123.