GB News host Patrick Christys praised for opening up about alcohol battle

Patrick Christys, who hosts his own weekday evening show on the controversial TV channel GB News, has been commended for his “honesty” in coming forward about his battle with alcoholism.

On Saturday night, Christys took to Twitter/X to share that he would be “discussing something very difficult, emotional and personal to me and those closest to me” on the right-wing news channel the next day, with an article about the experience also appearing in the Mail on Sunday.

Speaking to Stephen Dixon and Anne Diamond on the broadcaster’s Sunday breakfast programme, alongside his fiancée and fellow GB News contributor Emily Carver, Christys said: “There’ll be millions of people waking up this morning who are sick and tired of feeling sick and tired. There’ll be millions more – whether it’s husbands, wives, partners, loved ones – who are also feeling at their wit’s end about this.

“I just wanted to give a couple of very, very clear messages, really, which is that your rock bottom with alcohol is wherever you say it is. You do not have to wait to have actually lost everything.

“I was right on the brink, I was waking up in the mornings throwing up blood, couldn’t go an hour without a drink, I was probably only a couple of weeks away from losing my job here. I was right on the brink – unfortunately, but understandably, of course – with my personal relationship with Emily, the place I was living [in], I was about to have lost that, but I got it just in the nick of time.”

The 32-year-old also stressed to viewers that “you can recover” from alcoholism, praised the work of Alcoholics Anonymous, and stated candidly that if he had carried on drinking, “I would be dead now”.

In his interview with the Mail, Christys explained he had become “absolutely incredible at hiding and lying” when it came to keeping it a secret from his workplace, adding: “It was always on my mind that if I got found out, I’d get sacked and lose everything. When there’s that much riding on it, it’s amazing what you’re capable of.”

He had a hold-all under his desk at the GB News offices in Paddington with which he was “topping myself up” after drinking in the toilet on the train to work.

“I’d come off air at about midday at the time and there might be a few meetings or I’d be covering another show, but once I knew I was done, I’d go home, draw the curtains and see how much booze I could pour down myself. My bosses had no idea – no one did.”

And in news which will likely surprise many people, former Ukip leader and GB News colleague Nigel Farage played a part in making Christys acknowledge his drinking problem.

Sharing details about the phone call, Christys told the Mail: “He said, ‘can I give you a bit of fatherly advice?’ I accepted, of course, and he said, ‘I know you’re drinking too much.’

“He knew what I was up to – I’m not saying he’s got a problem with alcohol, but he knows a problem drinker when he sees one. He could tell I was drinking before going on air.

“He told me that I had a bright career ahead of me, and that I was going to f*** it up. I suppose if Nigel Farage is telling you you’re drinking too much, then you definitely have a problem.”

Christys has since received an outpouring of support on social media;

Reposting a clip of his GB News interview on Twitter/X, Christys wrote: “Thank you for the wonderful reaction and to those who supported me in the dark days. Life is there for the taking.”

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