Former Hollyoaks star Joe Tracini has opened up about how meeting Miriam Margolyes changed his life for the better by resulting in an unexpected and enduring friendship.
The actor, TV presenter, comedian and former magician, 36, and the Harry Potter actress, 83, first met while working together for one day on BBC sitcom Coming Of Age back in 2010 and have stayed in touch ever since.
Tracini - who is the son of comedian and I’m A Celebrity winner Joe Pasquale - has fought a number of personal demons over the years, including drug and alcohol misuse and being diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD) in his late 20s.
BPD severely effects how a person thinks and feels about themselves and other people, leading to intense, unstable emotions, chronic insecurity and intrusive thoughts, with sufferers 50 times more likely to die by suicide. Up to 75 percent of patients will attempt suicide.
Tracini spoke candidly about his own struggles in his 2022 book, Ten Things I Hate About Me, and in Channel 4 documentary, Me And The Voice In My Head, which aired earlier this year.
The personality disorder is also the subject of his new stand-up comedy show, Ten Things I Hate About Me, for which he will perform for the first time at the Apollo Theatre in London on August 25.
Someone who has rooted for Tracini throughout is Margolyes and in her endorsement for his book, declared: “You have to buy this book. I mean it. It's very funny and sad and utterly true. It's a life-saver.”
Recalling the first time they met, he told the Standard: “I’ve known Miriam for about 15 years. I first met her when we were working together, she did a day on a sitcom with me and I thought it was going to be a nice day when I met Miriam Margolyes and it was, she never forgot me.
“I’m not good at staying in touch [with people], she is, so we speak regularly. She asked me to interview her about her book which came out at the end of last year, so I did, but I had not read the book, which is essential apparently, but thankfully after that I did read the book and then we did another [live event] and it was lovely.
“It’s always lovely to be next to her around people. She’s exactly what you expect from her, but she’s very kind, very empathetic and she sees people. The amount of times somebody has gone up to her in the street and gone ‘you won’t remember this, but…’ and then they’ll start talking, you’ll see her thinking, and some people talk about parents, or friends that have died that she worked with, she remembers them! You give her a second, she has got a rolodex of memories in her head and she’ll go ‘oh, yeah’ and I think it’s amazing to be remembered by somebody like that.
“It’s one thing being seen when you’re there, but if you’re not forgotten then it means you were worth remembering and for that I am grateful that I know her.”
For more information and to buy tickets for Joe Tracini’s Ten Things I Hate About Me at London’s Apollo Theatre on August 25, visit www.theapollotheatre.co.uk
If you're struggling and need to talk, the Samaritans operate a free helpline open 24/7 on 116 123. Alternatively, you can email jo@samaritans.org or visit their site to find your local branch
