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Privacy NoticeEscape To The Country presenter, Alistair Appleton, has spoken out candidly about how he craved a different type of escape during his early days on TV, as he battled with drink and drugs outside of work. The presenter and psychotherapist, who returns to his role on BBC One on Friday, 7 June, first started presenting the show in 2007. Despite being a much-loved TV personality, the 54-year old admitted in an interview in 2019 that he was: “pretty unhappy” in his early 30s. He elaborated on his mental health struggles behind the camera on his blog, mind-springs.org, saying: “I was drinking a lot, doing a lot of drugs, going out a lot.”
Alistair right after cold water swimming
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In one blog post from 2019, Alistair said: “I realised how fossilised and dead-souled I’d become in my 20s.” In another post he said: “You know, in my 20s all I wanted to be was a famous TV presenter, and by the time I turned 30 I was already seeing that was a very dangerous path for me because I knew that it would just mean more anxiety, more laying value on external looks.” Alistair always had a passion for meditation and retrained as a psychotherapist to better understand burnout, and to help other people experiencing anxiety from their lives. He even wanted to move to a Thai monastery to pursue becoming a monk after taking a long meditation trip to Thailand, but his friends talked him out of it.
Alistair enjoying blue skies
Jules Hudson on Escape to the Country
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Since experiencing the hedonism of his 20s, and the anxiety of his 30s, Alistair has now settled down with his husband, Daniel, in the port of Newhaven where the two run yoga and meditation classes. Today he writes on his blog about spiritual retreats, advice for accessing your emotions, and lessons from other yogis and mediation teachers. Meanwhile, Jules Hudson, who has also been on the show since 2007, announced at the end of last year that he needed some creative and emotional rest from filming. In true Escape To The Country form, Jules ended up taking a 12-week course at the Boat Building Academy in Lyme Regis, a place that he actually discovered whilst filming the show in 2012. When discussing his boat building sabbatical, Jules said: “I always wanted to return [to the Academy]. But when you have a family and are working, life just moves on, and you go with it.” Although he has no plans to leave the show, Jules said his rest was much needed. Escape To The Country returns on BBC One on Friday, June 7 at 2.45pm Story SavedYou can find this story in My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.Follow OK! MagazineFacebookTwitterCommentMore OnEscape to the CountryMental healthHealth
