Facing addiction while pursuing music nearly cost me it all

Available for over a year

Janet Devlin from County Tyrone in Northern Ireland rose to fame on the UK’s staple Saturday night television singing competition The X Factor at just 16 years old. She did extremely well, though coming back to ‘normal’ life wasn’t quite as successful. Told that three out of four people in the UK would now recognise her, for her own safety she withdrew from the outside world, and started using alcohol as a coping mechanism while in isolation. Attempting to pursue a music career in the public eye while having borderline personality disorder, bipolar 2, and undiagnosed ADHD amid the grips of alcoholism would prove a near-impossible task. Janet is now years into recovery and used her experiences to inspire her third studio album called Confessional. In this episode there are references to some of the mental health challenges she faced from a young age, including self-harm and suicidal thoughts. If you are in need of support there are details of help available in many countries at Befrienders Worldwide. Just search www.befrienders.org. The photo of Janet shows her performing on stage as the headline act of The British Country Music Festival in 2025. There's blue and pink concert lighting above her and she's holding a microphone in her hand and singing with her eyes closed. Janet has curly platinum-blonde hair with a black cowboy hat on. She's standing with one arm extended outward with tattoos visible, including one of a horse. The silhouettes of audience members fill the foreground. Janet has also written an autobiography called My Confessional. Presenter: Mobeen Azhar Producer: Emily Naylor Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com or WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707 (Photo Credit: Dave Nelson)