Death in Paradise star Ben Miller’s health after struggle with ‘unmanageable’ condition
The actor has battled an "unpredictable" condition for years.
Ben Miller suffered from an (Image: BBC)
Death in Paradise star Ben Miller has managed to forge an incredible career over the years, landing roles in everything from Netflix period drama Bridgerton to hit children’s film Paddington 2 – but he’s done it all while battling an “unmanageable and unpredictable” health condition. The comedian and actor, 60, opened up about his struggle with obsessive compulsive disorder back in 2024.
Ben played the titular role in drama series Professor T, which followed a genius criminologist who also had OCD – and related his real-life struggle to his character. He said: “I did struggle a lot with OCD, particularly in my twenties, and I’m very lucky in that it’s all very manageable now.
“But there were times where it was unmanageable, as it is for Professor T, so I know how that feels and I know how I dealt with it.”
He added to Express.co.uk of the moments the character imagines himself without the condition: “I’ve found these sequences – where in the Professor’s imagination he doesn’t have OCD and he’s free of all those behaviours – are a great way to show what’s going on inside.
“Seeing somebody lining up items on a desk looks pretty innocuous but inside, that person can be a lot more complicated.
“I was very OCD about doorways and doors. For me, it was a way of mitigating and controlling my anxieties.
“I thought if I touched an object a certain number of times, then bad things won’t happen. Of course it doesn’t work – I constantly had to amplify my behaviours to try and reduce my anxiety.
“Mine was quite a mathematical one. I have quite a mathematical mind and sometimes that goes a little bit into overdrive.”
“There comes a point where the OCD behaviours themselves make the anxiety worse and you enter into a positive feedback loop; it gets out of control. There were crisis points when I decided to seek professional help.”
Ben underwent CBT to help his panic attacks (Image: Getty)
The condition caused Ben to suffer from panic attacks, as he admitted: “I don’t know what triggers it for me. It can happen any time of day or night and it can literally happen during a conversation. It doesn’t seem to follow any pattern.
“I’ve never woken up in the morning and thought: ‘I’m going to have a panic attack today.’ I always seem to be surprised by them.”
To help, Ben underwent cognitive behavioural therapy ad reflexology, as well as taking the medicinal herb ashwagandha.
He explained of the results: “I still have anxiety. What I’ve noticed is that if those behaviours come back, I don’t really panic about them any more.
“I just think, OK, my anxiety’s up so I need to do more to relieve it: meditation, exercise, listening to music, and the biggest one of all – feeling the anxiety, not trying to escape or control it. At the end of the day, the anxious feelings don’t last that long if you walk into them.”
