The Sun today rocked us with the news of David Walliams several suicide attempts.

Despite the comic asking the paper not to publish it, as to not overshadow the other stories in the book the paper published as soon as the embargo on his autobiography Camp David was lifted.

In the book David reveals he tried to hang himself twice, slit his wrists and throat and overdosed on painkillers at various stages of his life.

He made his first attempt in 1983 when he was 12 after being bullied at Sea Scouts camp.

Writing in his forthcoming book Camp David, the Britain’s Got Talent judge told how he ran off into the woods with a makeshift noose, but found he was ‘too tall’ to go through with it.

The second time he tried to hang himself was as recently as nine years ago, soon after a split from an ex-girlfriend.

Reading from a 2003 diary entry, David wrote:

“Just tried to hang myself. But I knew I didn’t really want to die, I just didn’t want to live. I took my weight with my feet and sat down. Earlier I had come close to stepping in front of a train. I am in total despair.”

The Little Britain star also ended up in hospital when he was 18 after overdosing on painkillers after he was rejected by female school friend.

His mother found him and brought him into A&E, where he was given medication to empty his stomach.

He later tried cutting his throat and slitting his wrists on New Year’s Day 2003.

Reflecting on the incident, he said: “The determination wasn’t there… Wanting to die has always been in me.”

His admissions of his suicide attempts comes after he spoke about a long battle with depression which has “blighted my adult life”.

David spoke of suffering from depression as recently as this year, when admitting in an interview to the Radio Times that he is often going through periods of intense self-loathing and admitted to Harpers Bazaar that he worried about the affect Britain’s Got Talent would have on his mental health. He worried that his condition would flare up because of all the BGT pressure saying:

“For me there’s a kind of manic depression that happens where there’s been a manic phase of creativity or performing,” he said. “I mean, even just being in front of the audience of Britain’s Got Talent, I do have this manic energy, and that has to be counter-balanced with something…That’s just the way things are.”

This post was written by guest blogger and reality TV showbiz observer Daniel Cohen. Catch up with him on Twitter here!