Page 3 Profile: Antonio Carluccio, TV food expert

Our favourite ebullient food connoisseur

As cheerful as he may appear on television, 71-year-old Antonio Carluccio, gastronome and founder of the restaurant chain, has admitting that he tried to take his own life six times. In an interview with the Sunday Times, he revealed how he has suffered from crippling bouts of depression over the years.

What caused it?

The co-star of BBC2 food programme Two Greedy Italians said that the memory of his brother's death by drowning and a series of broken relationships contributed to his malaise. On one occasion he intended to drown himself in a lake – only to be found collapsed on the bank after drinking a bottle of whisky.

This rings a bell

Sadly so. In 2008 he was taken to hospital with a suspected punctured lung caused by scissors to the chest. In a clumsy cover-up by his PR team, his injuries were said to be the result of an accident while cutting bread. But his subsequent self-admission to the Priory clinic raised questions.

Strange for somebody so successful.

Not really. His frank admission shows that the illness can strike people from all walks of life, regardless of personal and professional success.