The highs and lows of Frank Bruno: Champion boxer, pantomime dame and mental health patient on the road back

Bruno's body carried him through all sort in the ring and now outside of it

Bruno discusses his life in his new book Let Me Be Frank (Getty)

The Frank Bruno story was never simple, never routine and with each night of glory or gore, each horrible low, there came a twist, an invention, a ridiculous tale and every time big Frank managed to just slip away.

He left venues draped in national pride, he left with his face swollen, a bag of melting ice held over an eye, a blood-stained towel on his head and he left silent, confused and angry in the back of an ambulance. He was and remains our beloved Frank.

Bruno lost his first three fights for the world heavyweight title and every single defeat is hard to watch, painful to remember and he just kept going. Donald Trump ruined his chances in 1988 when the first fight with Mike Tyson was delayed by the tycoon for six months, and Bruno was out of the ring for sixteen months. He had bad eyes, a body that was howling at him to stop and he was beaten, bruised, cut, dropped and left senseless, but he never quit in any fight. He lost to quality boxers.

Bruno was beaten heavily by Mike Tyson (Getty)

“I’m a better fighter than I have ever been given credit for,” Bruno told a small gathering of hushed writers at about 3am after losing to Lennox Lewis in 1993. At the time of the savage end in round seven, one judge had Bruno in front and the other two had it even. Bruno is right, by the way.

He did win the world title at Wembley Stadium with a heroic display of skill against Oliver McCall in 1995; Bruno was 33, it was his 44th fight and his body was rejecting his devotion in the ring. Bruno and George Francis, his devoted trainer, were masterful that night. He fought just once more, another tough night in Las Vegas against Tyson the following year. Then, Bruno was gone, lost, we now know, to the depths of a terrible depression.

He was sectioned for the first time in 2003, an act of urgency by his family, which was stolen by the ‘Bonkers Bruno’ headline in a paper - the same paper had paid him so much money during his boxing career for exclusives and columns.

Bruno finally won the world title in 1995 (Getty)

“It was a bad time, there was the divorce, the death of George and then the darkness came,” Bruno told Darren Campbell, Olympic gold medal winner, last week. The divorce, the loss of family and support shattered big Frank. “It was too much pressure, too much pressure,” added Bruno. “I was driving all over the country and getting home and then cooking, ironing and cleaning. I lost it, I couldn’t go on.” Bruno was tired, drained and lonely.

It was a messy time, he also lost some money when somebody he trusted was left in control of his cash; he was under scrutiny, paranoid that people would think he was losing his mind. “If I had a corn and walked with a limp, I was thinking people would say: ‘Bruno is gone’. It was a bad time, very bad,” Bruno said.

Bruno is recognised as a national hero (Getty)

That is a high level of anxiety, an impossible level in many ways for a celebrity like Bruno to live anything like a normal life. He kept up the paid appearances, remained the smiling, joking Bruno, but it was a struggle through the years and in 2012 he was sectioned again. “I should never have been sectioned that time and I got out after a tribunal,” Bruno insisted. The 2012 sectioning hurt him, he felt betrayed again. In 2015 he booked himself in. “I was a burn out,” Bruno offers.

He has been recovering since then, day-by-day, surrounding himself with decent people. He has always had people and they have often been forced to witness the falls without the ability to say very much. His new book is part of the endless recovery, part of the story of Frank Bruno, champion boxer, pantomime dame, mental health patient and national icon.

Let Me Be Frank by Frank Bruno is out now.