Frankie Boyle says his alcoholism was a reaction to the ‘horror’ of his early life

Comedian reveals he quit drinking because he would either ‘have to give up or die’

Frankie Boyle has opened up about his former alcoholism in an interview on Louis Theroux’s Grounded podcast.

The 48-year-old Scottish comedian, who gave up drinking aged 26, told Theroux about his struggles with addiction, from having his first taste of vodka at 15 to realising he had to stop years later for fear it would kill him.

“I remember having my first drink at 15 and just going, ‘Yes, yippee, this is it,” said the Glasgow-born star. “Something they say in addiction therapy is there’s a feeling addicts get that the substance completes them, and that’s what it was for me, like, ‘Oh this is the real me.’”

He added: “Personally, now I’m much older, it’s the dissociative qualities of alcohol that allow you to disassociate from trauma or any problems that you have and allow you to be the person you feel you would have been. So in a way it does complete you…

“Without going into detail it was a general reaction to the horror of my earlier life… the whole thing of the school system that was fairly brutal, young people weren’t treated that well… the hopelessness of feeling that you’re growing up struggling to find anything rewarding to do with your life…”

Boyle told Theroux he was drinking vodka as a child and “was definitely up for drinking on my own from my teens”.

When asked whether he was still functional and managing to hold down jobs, Boyle said: “Just. I was just getting to the stage where I wasn’t. I was in comedy when I stopped. To an extent you can do it drunk. You can certainly do 20 minutes drunk.”

Boyle decided to stop after he “drank everyone under the table” at a wedding in Romania. On the plane home, he was so hungover that his body went into “spasm” and he “threw” a soft drink all over the ceiling. 

He said: “I thought, ‘This isn’t good. This is getting to the stage where you either have to give up or die.’ So I gave up. I found it relative easy compared to other people. I didn’t fall off the wagon and go back on a lot or whatever.”

The comedian added that people would message him on social media to ask advice about giving up alcohol, but that those DMs had “dried up” considerably during lockdown.

Earlier this year, figures showed that high-risk drinking has doubled during lockdown. The Royal College of Psychiatrists said the government must increase the money available to pay for alcoholism treatment given the dramatic surge in problem drinking.

Alcoholics Anonymous helpline is open 24/7 on 0800 9177 650. If you would prefer, you can also email them at help@aamail.org or live chat via their website at www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk. Drinkline, a free, confidential helpline for people who are concerned about their drinking, or someone else's. Call 0300 123 1110 (weekdays 9am–8pm, weekends 11am–4pm).