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Viewers praise 'brave' Roman Kemp for opening up about mental health ahead of documentary

The presenter and DJ was chatting on The One Show

roman kemp one show
Francesca Shillcock
Senior Features Writer
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Roman Kemp has received high praise after he opened up about mental health ahead of his new documentary, Our Silent Emergency.

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The DJ and presenter, who appeared on Thursday's edition of The One Show, was discussing his upcoming project which explores male suicide when he opened up about his own mental health journey and the tragic loss of his friend, Joe, last year.

Roman told Rylan Clark-Neal and Alex Jones: "I lost my absolute best friend, my brother. He's been by my side work-wise and throughout my social life. Joe Lyons, or as other people would know him - Producer Joe. It ripped my whole life apart and I could not understand it."

WATCH: Martin Kemp reveals embarassing incident from son Roman's childhood

He added: "I couldn't understand what had happened. It ripped my life, his whole family and his close friends, our team, everything."

On the documentary, Roman stated: "I think what is shown in the documentary, is that suicide, I still genuinely believe and I can only speak from a male perspective, is sometimes seen as a midlife crisis thing.

"In the doc, I go to Belfast and we're meeting lads who are 14-years-old, who are going through this. The call out through this is to basically come away and realise we need to start implementing something from kids, as young as the age of five."

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roman kemp new doc© Photo: BBC

Roman Kemp's new documentary is out next week

After his interview, one person wrote on Twitter: "@romankemp Thank you for speaking up. Such a huge issue with not enough money for help in secondary schools, our children need a voice."

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A second person said: "@romankemp superb work to bring attention to the sad situation surrounding male mental health. Powerful stuff, very brave to talk about a personal tragedy on national TV. Bravo Roman and to @BBCTheOneShow @MissAlexjones and @Rylan." A third added: "@romankemp So so so so proud of you. You're incredibly brave #TheOneShow."

If you have been affected by this story and wish to seek help, Samaritans (116 123) operates a 24-hour service available every day of the year. If you prefer to write down how you're feeling, or if you're worried about being overheard on the phone, you can email Samaritans at jo@samaritans.org.

Roman Kemp: Our Silent Emergency is out on BBC next week.

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