Fern Britton Meets Frank Bruno

[Phil D. Rolls]

I thoroughly enjoyed watching this show. Frank Bruno is just one of those people you can't help warming to, he is so straightforward and humble.

I was disappointed they didn't go into his mental health problems more though. Frank has clearly been Bi Polar from his teens on, from what I can make out. The length of time he spends out of the public eye, and the fact that he requires to be sectioned to get him into hospital, all point to someone that has some big problems to cope with in his life.

It was when Fern asked him what he got up to when he was high, that I felt needed to be a bit more searching. Frank said he would do things like go to the shops and buy 20 oranges instead of the 4 he needed, or that he would go and buy five shirts when he only needed one. I'm sure we've all been guilty of the odd impulsive episode - but that doesn't make us bi polar.

It's most likely that Frank has had worse experiences, such as going weeks without sleeping, delusional beliefs - and has experienced the darkest depths of depression. I feel that if people are to understand what makes the bi polar different from someone that lives within normal constraints (albeit sometimes at the edge), then we really have to start hearing the real highs and lows of the condition - as Stephen Fry brought out in his show.

I believe that many people are going around saying they are bi polar (not Frank) when all they are doing is pushing the envelope from time to time. What's other people's thoughts? Have you been affected by bi polar, or people saying they are bi polar?

[CropleyWasGod]

The Stephen Fry programme was magnificent television.

I didn't see the Bruno programme, but the spending spree thing came up with Fry. He has, apparently, dozens of I-pods as a result.

A couple of things that stick with me, which I often repeat:-

1. me feeling pretty cheated at the thought that I had "normal" depression, and didn't get any of the highs that those with bi-polar have.

2. when Fry asked people with BPD if, if they had the power, they would turn off their condition tomorrow..... all but one said no, because the highs were worth the lows.

[Pretty Boy]

I read a book about Frank many moons ago. It may have even been an.autobiography, he certainly had an official involvement.

It was fairly obvious when reading that Franks mental state was changing continuously throughout the book. Some parts were relentlessly positive and seems like they had been written by an excitable child. Other parts on the other hand were very bitter. He reserved particular loathing for Lennox Lewis and really believed the 'True Brit' stuff ( he had true Brit emblazoned on his shorts when he fought Lewis due to Lewis' Canadian heritage). At times he's seemed unbelievably deluded about his own abilities and really believed it was only other people that stopped him being as good as Lewis, Tyson, Holyfield and the other top heavyweights of that era.

It was a hard book to read as he seemed to swing from humble gentleman to arrogant loudmouth almost chapter by chapter.

Will definitely look out for the documentary as it sounds like it will be interesting viewing.

[Phil D. Rolls]

I read a book about Frank many moons ago. It may have even been an.autobiography, he certainly had an official involvement.

It was fairly obvious when reading that Franks mental state was changing continuously throughout the book. Some parts were relentlessly positive and seems like they had been written by an excitable child. Other parts on the other hand were very bitter. He reserved particular loathing for Lennox Lewis and really believed the 'True Brit' stuff ( he had true Brit emblazoned on his shorts when he fought Lewis due to Lewis' Canadian heritage). At times he's seemed unbelievably deluded about his own abilities and really believed it was only other people that stopped him being as good as Lewis, Tyson, Holyfield and the other top heavyweights of that era.

It was a hard book to read as he seemed to swing from humble gentleman to arrogant loudmouth almost chapter by chapter.

Will definitely look out for the documentary as it sounds like it will be interesting viewing.

Arrogance and grandiosity are symptoms of BPD. They are also qualities that are needed to succeed at the highest level in many professions. I got the impression that during his time as a boxer, these things went unremarked upon. It was only once he tried to live a more conventional life that he re-encountered problems.

You'll get the interview on the i-Player.

[JimBHibees]

I read a book about Frank many moons ago. It may have even been an.autobiography, he certainly had an official involvement.

It was fairly obvious when reading that Franks mental state was changing continuously throughout the book. Some parts were relentlessly positive and seems like they had been written by an excitable child. Other parts on the other hand were very bitter. He reserved particular loathing for Lennox Lewis and really believed the 'True Brit' stuff ( he had true Brit emblazoned on his shorts when he fought Lewis due to Lewis' Canadian heritage). At times he's seemed unbelievably deluded about his own abilities and really believed it was only other people that stopped him being as good as Lewis, Tyson, Holyfield and the other top heavyweights of that era.

It was a hard book to read as he seemed to swing from humble gentleman to arrogant loudmouth almost chapter by chapter.

Will definitely look out for the documentary as it sounds like it will be interesting viewing.

Was a little disappointed with the Fern Britton / Bruno programme obviously Fern's remit was to make out Frank has this powerful religious belief which seemed to me more his family's belief particularly than his. He has obviously had a number of issues with his former wife and kids which seemed to get skirted over to a large extent. Brave thing to do for him though.