TV actor and film-maker David Morrissey has candidly revealed he is a "recovering alcoholic" and discussed the "self-destructive" behaviours he adopted following the death of his father.

Speaking on Radio 4 ’s Desert Island Discs with Lauren Laverne , the 61-year-old shared how his father died from a haemorrhage at 54 when Morrissey was just 15, having suffered from a long-term and terminal blood disorder.

The Sherwood and Gone actor described being in a "terrible state" following the loss, experiencing "trauma responses", depression, and anxiety.

Morrissey recounted leaving school at 16, a year after his father’s passing, to spend six months travelling with a theatre company based in Wolverhampton.

Reflecting on his childhood, The Walking Dead star said: “I knew that, academically, I was never going to be able to go to university or anything – that was never going to happen to me.…