Frank Bruno Fern Britton Meets...

$:/STARTFEED. This is Wandsworth in South London, and in the whrat

1960s, there was a young, eight- year-old boy playing on the streets,

picking fights, and generally getting into trouble. Until he

found this place, the Earlsfield amateur Boxing Club.

It was here that that young boy found an outlet for all his pent-up

energy. He discovered he had a natural talent for boxing. 25 years

later, he was fighting and winning the World Heavyweight title.

His name...Frank Bruno. When his hand was raised in victory

everybody was in tears and the place went bananas. I feel bliss h

blessed and I thank God that he reached that far. He just became a

hero overnight. Frank and Henry Cooper are arguably the most famous

and well-loved of our British heavyweight champions. How does it

feel? Beautiful. But it was Frank's affectionate banter with Harry

Carpenter and his pantomimes that make him such a British institution.

What's your famous punch line? know what I mean, Harry. I'm not

Harry. I mean Ann. Frank had good punch lines. I'm thinking. You're a

super star. Am I? Thanks. Since his retirement from boxing, Frank has

had to face the toughest battle of his life, the fight with mental

illness. I did need the help. I was doing some crazy things and saying

stupid things. The kettle was boiling and I was, like....# Many

rivers to cross # Frank had a mental breakdown that

brought his world crashing down around him. His marriage split up.

He was in a very big house on his own. His private life was never far

from the front pages. Everything got tonne top of him and he went to

pieces. Through it all, frank took strength from his faith. You have

to thank your lucky stars and the man above. He's with you all the

time? Oh, 24/7. I've come to meet Frank at a country house hotel, a

far cry from the house he grew up in Wandsworth. I'm going to talk

about the highs and lows of fame and how his enduring faith have

helped him through the dark times of life.

Frank, wonderful to see you. Nice to see you too. And I'm quite sure

lots of people are going to be so pleased to see you and hear from

you. Do you find that people think they know you, but do we know you?

I'm not too sure if people know me. They should by now because I've

been in the business or on the circuit for 30-odd years. Do we

know the real you, or have you put on a persona for the public and

keep the real you private? What you see is what you get. I've never

tried to be something I ain't. I can be good sometimes and bad

others. Like a normal human being. Well, I'm a human being, hopefully.

Or an alien! You never know. At 6ft 3" tall, with a big heart and sense

of humour to match, Frank has always been popular, but that

brings with it extra pressure. public live him but he doesn't get

left alone very often and it must be very, very hard. He's such a

national treasure and people respect him and like him. We were

at Broadcasting House and so many people from the cleaner, to

somebody in the kitchen to TV radio producers from flooding out of

offices to shake his hand and say hello. People relate to him and he

relates to people at all levels. you've got little dumplingles, I've

got big muscles. Is the reception you receive easy to accept? It can

be hard but you go with the flow. As long as no-one wants to beat you

up or burn down your house, or that, you just go with the flow. My motto

is from the beginning I would keep my feet on the ground. Some people

get on television and let themselves go and not realise

what's happening and don't check themselves and they run away with

the moment. But I kept myself feet on the ground and kept it real.

Frank has come a long way from his roots in South London. His parents,

Robert and Lynette both came from the Caribbean. They were one of the

first black families to move into their road in Wandsworth. Franklin,

as he was christened was born in November 19616789 Frank was a large

baby, a big baby. He was about nine pounds. If you look at the little

baby photographs, you can see his hands, they're ready to box. Ready

to go! I had a lot of happiness, you know,

because there's six in the family. Nigh sister Joan, and I have two

half sisters and two half brothers and I'm the youngest out of six.

There was a lot of goodness going in my family and I got looked after

very well. I mustn't grumble. single night the children would

have to set the table and sit down and eat together and say their

grace and sit down and eat together. Because that's the principles of

life. You, as parents, have got to put into them that which was

instilled in you when you were growing up. And this is what was

instilled in us in the West Indies. My mum and dad worked very hard. My

mum was a Christian, but my dad wasn't. My dad loved the bookies'

shops! But I was always protected. Faith was important in the home.

Frank's mum was a lay preacher and religion played a big part in his

early childhood. Everybody would have to go to church and everybody

went to Sunday school and there was no problem. My mum was always

sending me to church when I was young. I had to go to church every

Sunday and prayer meetings and things like that, but I didn't want

to go. But she forced me to go. It weren't a bad thing. It was always

in me to believe in God and do the right things and try and be holy

and whatever. And then you say, growing up on the streets of London

with a nice family, but there were moments when you were a naughty

boy? Yeah, I weren't naughty that I got locked up in prison or got a

criminal record or anything like that. I was just full of beans and

fighting a lot on the streetsz and things like that. Frank -- streets

and things like that. Frank was naughty. He used to fight and climb

and tumble over. He would go out on the street and you'd have to go and

look for him. He was one that loved bigger boys' company than himself.

I used to tell him "don't get into any trouble and come to my house.

If the police come, I am not coming. You don't have a mother." Were your

parents strict? Yes, very strict. My dad was very strict on me. He

gave me a lot of different things that a lot of people didn't have,

but he was very, very strict on me. He dropped some manners on me and I

needed that. Did he smack you? he smacked me. He smacked me when I

was out of order but he praised me when I was good. I would say he is

mostly like his father. His dad was a proud man. He was lovely. He was

loving and he loved him. They were friends. I looked up to him. He was

my hero, really. He was a good man. He was the person who bought me my

first boxing gloves. Was he? Yeah, I think he wanted me to be a boxer.

How old were you? I think eight or nine.

Frank took his boxing gloves, along with his frustrations, down to the

local amateur boxing club. They are still going strong today,

training young hopefuls, both boys and girls, to be the champs of

tomorrow. The first thing that boxing does to any youngster is

teach them discipline, whether you're going to be a champion or

not, it teaches you to get to the gym on time and to be able to go

into the ring with another lad, take a punch and give a punch and

when the final bell sounds, you wrap your arms around each other,

have a hug until the next time. tell me about the boxing. As a

small boy in the ring, sparring, were you mentally prepared for that

because you seem so gentle. How do you fire yourself up? I think if

you're a man and you go into a boxing ring and somebody punches

you in the mouth, you automatically want to retallate and get them back.

But it was a good experience, it got rid of frustration and angerer.

Why did you get angry? I don't know. There was a lot going in my head. I

was very up and down. I never felt 100% right when I was younger,

looking at it. When I mean 100% right, I mean cloudy days and

sometimes it was full of beans and done one minute, you know what I

mean? It was up and down. These early mood swings led Frank into

serious trouble at school. I was a little bit of a bully and I got

expelled from my primary school. used to fight everybody there. He

used to fight the teachers and his friends. If he saw anybody

troubling his friends he would fight them. He's always in a fight.

So my mum warned me that if I don't behave myself I would get sent to

boarding school. But I didn't - well, I believed her because she's

a serious lady. She wanted me to get better and do things she

couldn't do, but I didn't respond. Frank's mum felt that what he

needed was a radical change. He was sent to Oak Hall Boarding School in

Sussex. It specialised in educating children with behavioural problems.

So the boarding school gave you structure in life? Yes. Church on

Sundays. Were you allowed to box there? I think boxing weren't

allowed in the school, but you could train. And canoeing and rugby

and camping out. We did all different things, but they wouldn't

allow boxing in the school. We had gloves and sometimes the kids, if

we had a dispute they would bring us in the gymnasium and let us

fight away by doing it properly. But they didn't allow boxing at the

time. No, because this is a group of boys who have been naughty and

aggressive on the streets. Yeah, testosterone kicking in. How old

were you when you were there? 16. So absolutely that testosterone

period. Yes, but it was the best thing that happened to me, because

it was a good school. It was a nice school, but it had disciplines.

Because when he came home at the weekends you could see the

difference in him. And studies? Academic studies?

Exams? I wasn't too brainy at school. I was a little bit dyslexic

and I couldn't get it together. So I didn't pass O-levels or A-levels

or anything like that. Did God play a part in your life at that stage?

I think he did, in a way. When I was at boarding school I got

christened a Catholic. And did faith mean anything to you at that

stage? I don't think it meant that much. In the boarding school, every

Sunday we had to go to church, but I always had one foot... I always

had one foot believing in God and one foot out, you know what I mean?

I think those are the ones that God likes, because they're a challenge.

Yeah, I would say so. One minute I would believe and one minute I

wouldn't believe, you know what I mean. For Frank, boarding school

was a liberating time, but back home in the holidays, he had to

take on family responsibilities. Your father had been very, very ill

and you'd looked after him when you were at home. Yeah, I had to give

him injections and whatever. He had diabetes and a stroke. And you give

him the insulin? Not all the time because my mum was a district nurse,

and she was good at that. I didn't like giving injections, but

sometimes I'd give him them. But that's how life goes, yeah. It must

have been tough to see your hero, as a young lad, your dad bed ridden.

But life is tough sometimes, isn't it. Yeah, it is. It's not always

Bloomingdales. 15-year-old Frank was back at school when the news of

his father's death came through, but Frank believes he had

forewashing. When he died, you had some sort of...I Heard him crying.

And my teacher called me in the headmaster's office and said, "Your

dad has died" and I said, "I know, I heard him screaming with pain,

because he had a stroke." Where were you? I was at the back of the

shed having a cigarette. We weren't supposed to have a cigarette, we

were being naughty, but the teacher came and found me and took me in,

and I said, "I know, I know he's gone because I heard him screaming

in pain, and he went." extraordinary. Very, very

extraordinary. But I loved my dad and that was one of them things

that happened. And I was glad he'd got put out of his pain. Despite

that apparent premonition, his dad's death was a crushing blow for

Frank. I think it's even hitting him now, you know, because they

were very close. And I mean, at 15, to lose your dad, somebody that you

live so closely with, it's hard. wish he was here and that he could

see, you know what I mean, well, I know that he can see what I'm doing,

but I'm proud of him and I know that's he's proud of me. Do you

feel your father around you? Yeah, sometimes I do, yeah, definitely.

He is a very powerful guy, but he said once I've died don't visit my

grave or I'll come and haunt you. So I've never visited his grave.

Never? That's what he said, he'd haunt me. Shortly after his father

died, Frank returned to Wandsworth, bringing with him a dream. Where

did you think you would go in life, did you have a plan? Yeah, I had a

plan to be a boxer. That's the plan I had. I sussed it out that I

didn't have the education to be a lawyer, or solicitor, or teacher

and I was too big to be doing athletics, or anything like that. I

couldn't play football. I couldn't do nothing, apart from boxing. So I

had it all worked out, to make as much money as I could in boxing and

not have to work when I'm older. So I had that sussed out. But it was a

long road and the hill was very streep, very, very steep. But you

made that dream a reality. Yeah, a lot of people think it's a strange

thing but I made it a reality. That's all I could do. I don't even

like Porscheing. I didn't like getting punched. You didn't? Well,

I wasn't that kinky that I wanted to go in the ring and get beaten up,

or hit somebody and they would hit me, but it was the only way I knew

how to get out of.... Society, I'd either have to be very educational

and be a doctor or a scientist, but I didn't have the capabilities up

here. But how clever of you to know that's the path I'm taking and

become a success. It wasn't clever...You Just knew? Yeah.

set about making his dream a reality. But, as an amateur boxer

he had to make a living too. I was a metal polisher, I worked in

Lonsdale sports shop and I worked on a building site, because I had

to pay the bills. My mum said I couldn't leave school and not do

something, so I had to find a job. I was part-time doing boxing and I

got a chance to fight for London and then England and then I was the

youngest one to win the Heavyweight Championship, the ABAs, at 18. And

after that, I never looked back from there.

The famous boxing manager, Terry Lawless had spotted Frank's

potential and signed him up. He set about turning him into a

professional fighter. Lawless rang me and said, "He's got

his licence and come down and meet Frank" he was then 19. And I went

to Lawless's house and I remember when he came in from the garden

through the kitchen door and I described it as he blocked out the

sun because he was massive. And we had a rapport from that moment on.

Frank was now earning his living from boxing and he and his

girlfriend, Laura, had moved in together. He'd become a father for

the first time and the press attention had started to roll. When

did the press start to notice you? Um, Colin Hart from the Sun. He

came to my house and he took a photograph of me and my daughter,

called Nick lafplt I persuaded Terry Lawless to let me ask Frank

if we could do that perfect with Nick lay. Nick lay is about 30 now.

It made a delightful picture, but she won't thank me now! And he

said" you won't know what will hit you. You're going to be very, very

big and popular." Boxing is a big sport and heavyweights are the

biggest draw. Let's be brutal about this, people like heavyweights

because they like seeing people knocked over. That's why they make

any more money than any other weight. I told him then if he ever

made it big as a professional, he'd be a national idol in no time.

British boxing in the past year has become increasingly excited over

heavyweight Frank Bruno. The man has made rapid progress and thumps

as hard as any other heavyweight in the world. Frank's professional

debut brought him a lot of new fans. The first fight I ever had was at

the Royal Albert Hall, a guy called Lupe Guerra. I went into the Hall

and I nearly fainted. 5,000 people packed into the ring and all

shouting my name. Bruno! Bruno! Yeah, it was scary. I wanted to

walk and not get involved, but it was nice. I won the fight in about

two rounds, but it was hard mentally. It was a different cup of

tea, professional and amateur. For any boxer, whether they win or

lose, the job isn't over in the ring. Everyone wants a piece of you.

After I had the fight, about Wednesday I started running. That's

my business and that's the only thing I know. After a fight,

particularly if you're hurt and bruising, you want to do a quick

interview that gets the points across and also allows - because,

you know, after the fight, it's showbiz again and you've got to say

the right things and a lot of boxers don't want to talk to an

interviewer. Exclusive! When Frank first started, he was painfully shy

and didn't like being interviewed and he learned how to deal with the

media. And, of course, what made him a national idol was his rapport

with the late, great Harry Carpenter, the BBC commentator.

When did you first meet Harry Carpenter? When I was about 19/20 I

met him. We hit it off very well. He was very fond of you, wasn't he?

I was very fond of him. He was nice. One of the nicest men you could

wish to meet. He was very special, jolly. A typical English little

gentleman. He was a sweet guy. he inspired the famous Bruno catch

phrase. You know what I mean, Harry. Say it again. You know what I mean,

Harry. When was the first time you said that? One of the first

important fights I had was against a guy called Jumbo Cummings, and I

beat him and knocked him out and Harry said, "That was a good punch"

and I said, "What punch, Harry" and it watered on from there. And the

press picked it up. I just kept saying, "You know what I mean,

Harry." Frank, how does it feel to be a champion? It feels beautiful.

I didn't think I'd see you. I thought you'd retired. No, no.

Harry was able to gauge Frank's moods and temperament and they were

very, very funny and television capitalised on that. And it became

a catch phrase. You know what I mean, Harry. Hello, Frank, how are

you? Very well. Frank became a celebrity in his own right and

swapped his boxer shorts for a smart suit. Every time he was

invited on to a show, the presenters started to laugh. Many a

presenter started laughing because Frank started. It's catching.

Weights, sprinction, all sorts of things. What weight are you now?

After I finish, I'll be about eight stone.

Along with others, I too fell for Frank's infectious humour.

But there was no joking around when he was back in the ring. Frank won

fight after fight. He seemed unstoppable.

Bruno has marked up win number 15 in his professional career. You won

so many straight fights in your career. Yes. Did you feel

invincible? No, boxing is never a game where you can feel invincible.

Did you have your religious faith then? I always prayed. Did you say

to God, "Let me win." 24/7. All the time and not to hurt anybody and

make sure the cheque doesn't bounce. Even though the other guy on the

other side is probably asking God the same thing. That's right.

relationship with the all mighty was bound with a pre-match ritual.

Every time Franklin is going to box he always puts on his special

shorts and down to the church to be prayed for. He never go to box

without he asks for prayer. Frank's holy shorts couldn't work every

time, though, and after 21 victorious professional fights he

met his match. The person who defeated you had the wonderful name,

Bonecrusher Smith. Yeah, Bonecrusher Smith, he was the same

size as me, but he was a man. I was a boy. I don't think my tools had

developed then, I was a late developer. I was leading for eight

rounds, but unfortunately he knocked me out in the ninth round.

Where did he land the punch? He was like a machinegun. My head, body.

Every box that he box, I box with him! Until you become a mother then

you'll understand how it feels. do you feel yourself getting

weaker? I felt myself going to the ground but I'd never had the

experience and in myself to hold him and go on the floor and spit

the gum shield out. I was too honest and straight, rather than

try to cheat. So with cheating, if you spit your gum shield out.....

It's not cheating. It's like you doing an interview, but looking at

your, while you talk to me. Little tricks of the trade. So if you've

spat it out. It gives you time to recover. The referee stops it and

you have to wash if. It's not cheating, it's little tricks of the

trade. But you didn't do it? When you were defeated, did you go

home thinking, "Oh, somebody did that to me." Yeah, you've let the

fans down and yourself down. Yeah, it was a bit rough, to be honest.

But that's how life goes. Boxing is a very special sport. It's not like

a team game where you can hide for a bit of the game, you have to have

immense character and courage, because it's a one-to-one situation.

It's a very chosen profession, but a very hard game. And a fine line

between knowing you can knock someone out, and negotiate you

could kill them. Yeah, you don't go into boxing to kill someone, or be

killed yourself. But it's a fine line. You want to stop them, but

let them get up again. Yeah. boxing isn't just about having a

winning punch. Frank would need to be mentally tough too, as he

prepared to challenge for the World Heavyweight title against the

formidable champion, Iron Mike Tyson. I'm so good, I'm great.

not here to have a slanging match. People ask me why to boxers get

into mind games before a fight. Insulting each other or going to

hit each other at the final press conference. Most it's a game. There

have been times when it's for real, but 99% of the time it's done in

the hope of selling tickets. before a fight there is all that

jousting, and ficking out your opponent. All of that. -- psyching

out your opponent. Who was the best at it against you? I would say

Tyson. What would they say? things, just looking at you and

getting you off your guard and getting you unsettled. It's a

boxing thing that you do. Give me your psyching out look. Think I'm

Mike Tyson, do it to me? No, I couldn't do that to you fern, I

couldn't. Give me the look. I don't think that was it at all! I mean,

there is battle? Definitely battle. So you look each other in the eye

and go for it? Definitely. Ding- ding, round one.

Against Tyson, Frank would find The test.

Tyson is one of the most formidable fighters. He has upper cuts and

every shot in the book. But Frank had a jab that I like a pistol.

was that fight particularly when Frank got Mike Tyson and you're

thinking, "Is he going to do this?" After a valiant effort, Frank lost

in the fifth round. I went in there and tried my best,

but my best weren't good enough. Does that hurt your pride when you

come out of the ring and you haven't won? Yeah, it does. But

everything I've done in boxing I went in there and gave it 110%, so

I don't feel bad in myself because I know I went in there and tried my

best. He wasn't the only one who thought that. When Frank returned

from America, the reception he got was unprecedented. Can you tell us

how it feels? It's unbelievable. How many times does a loser get the

acclaim that Frank got after that? You'd have thought he'd won,

because the public, even the non- boxing public, he just became a

hero overnight. He's done us proud. I thought he was fantastic, what

he'd done. Good old Frank. He may not have been victorious, but

nobody seemed to care and the attention he received was

relentless. Even his personal life became headline news. In 1990, when

he married his long-term girlfriend, Laura, the cameras were there. And

again, a week later, when he received his MBE for his

achievements in boxing. Did you get any peace or was your privacy

inindividualed all the time? Sometimes it comes with the

territory, you know what I mean. Sometimes your privacy is taken

away with the press and everything, but you have to take the smooth

with the rough. But tough still. Sometimes you must think, "I just

want to nip round to the supermarket.". Yeah, but you can't

grumble. When you're involved with a sport like that, it's one of them

things. It's part of life. When you had that money in the bank and you

could think, "I could do some stuff with that, I could get myself some

better things." What did you treat yourself to? I got some nice

clothes and nice cars, and bought a house in Marbella. I got some nice

things overall. Frank didn't let his fame go to his head. His new-

found wealth was not going to let him lose sight of his long-term

dream. It's a rocky road, the boxing game and anything could

happen. He was focused on winning and

despite his celebrity status, took his sport very seriously. Frank

always looked good before every fight he had because he was a

fitness fanatic. Still is. So there was never, ever a time when he

didn't look fit and at the time he had a great trainer in the late

George Francis. Garage would take him in the depths of winter to

Hampstead Heath at six in the morning. That toughens you up.

that meant that he was in top form as he prepared for the fight of his

life against Oliver McCall, for the world title. When we get in there

and he's fired up, but he's going to be knocked out. Frank had tried

three times before to become Heavyweight Champion of the world

and this was Oliver McCall, the fourth attempt, the "last chance

saloon". It was one of the most electrifying environments I've been

in. Everyone was rooting for Frank to win. The crowd and the

electricity was incredible. Everyone was loving each other and

back slapping. Millions tuned in on television. The country had Frank

fever. But not everyone was enjoying it. His mum couldn't bear

to watch. I didn't go to that. I know what I was doing? Praying.

performed fantastically for the first ten rounds, but then in the

last two rounds, Oliver McCall came back. Frank was rocking and rolling

in the 14th and 15th rounds.. you remember how it was? Oh, yeah,

he was a very, very tough, arrogant man. He drove hard rounds. Boxers

say nobody knows what we're going through, but we do, as fans,

because we go through every punch with him. And what was the best

snunch I got several good punches, but I couldn't knock him out.

he got there and when his hand was raised in victory everybody was in

tears and I must admit I had a lump in my throat. Frank was in tears

and the place went bananas. I feel blessed and I thank God that he

went that far. But you won. Oh, yes. It was a nice feeling I wanted in

my make-up, to have that thing as a title, the former WB C champion.

you still have the belt? Yeah, it's in my bedroom and I look at it

every day. Frank was a national hero, a true champion and took to

the streets to celebrate. Afterwards, it was like the whole

country was going to share in his joy. You just went round with a big

smile. It's probably like when England won the World Cup in 1966.

And he was so proud to fly the flag. Isle' never forget that. But just

six months later, Frank had to face Tyson once again. The fight would

earn him $6 million, but his title would be seriously at risk.

Thousands of fans flew out to Las Vagas with some hope and

trepidation. It was almost a call to arms. He's our guy. We have to

go. And several thousand Brits were there, and it wasn't just the cigar

chompers. The transformation of this stadium has taken the crowd by

surprise. I went with the army and we were optimistic. The fans may

have been hopeful, but Tyson had shown he was a notoriously

ferocious fighter. Frank was taller with a longer reach than his

opponent, but on the night, would that be enough? Body language is

very important in all sports. The walk from the locker room, to the

ring. We were watching, in our press seats on a TV monitor and I

counted it, I couldn't believe it, we were amazed. He crossed himself

13 times on that walk to the ring. So all his confidence had

evaporated in a matter of seconds and he was like a rabbit in front

of the headlights in that fight, and Tyson found it the easiest

thing in the world to knock him out in three rounds. I think Mike Tyson,

at that time, he was an animal at that time. Getting in the ring, let

alone fighting him, I cannot imagine how much courage it takes

to get in the ring with somebody like Mike Tyson. Frank Bruno

arrived back in Britain today after his crushing defeat against Mike

Tyson. Froick was battered and bruised and -- Frank was battered

and bruised and felt deplated. gutted. I'd like to come back with

my belt, but at the end of the day I feel sorry for the British people

who went over there and spent all their money. That's Frank. Even in

his darkest moment he's always worried about other people. Every

sports person gets to a period in their life when they probably feel

they can take no more pain, particularly if you've been paid

quite nicely for the job you've done. I got the impression with

Frank every time he was asked to comment or speak after his fight

with Tyson it was, "I've let the fans down" and people don't want to

hear that, it's what you want to do, because you've let nobody down.

After that second fight with Tyson, you retired gracefully and

graciously. And it was partly because of your eye. Yeah, I had a

detached retina at the time. it's very important for your

licence to be medical fit. Yeah, you've got to be fit all the time.

I can see some cuts there. Yeah, I've got the scars. Who did what?

don't know. I've got some of these out of boxing, rather than in

boxing. But I have some scars there. Is there a Tyson scar there?

think here, or from, I'm not too sure. TVs with reluctance you

retired? No, I think it was the right time. I was 33 and I was

getting hard to push yourself. Once you've achieved your goal it's a

nice feeling and the Tyson goal was the last thing that happened to me.

And it was nice to finish on a highway note. A world note. Yeah.

As one door closed, another opened. Frank became a showbiz favourite..

Hello beautiful. Thank, Noel, but I'm only acting. You were still

"Bruno" to everybody and they all loved you and you move r moved into

the life of showbiz. Yeah, panto. It was nice. I had a good manager

at the time. Because when you leave boxing, I moved into showbiz and I

met some nice people in showbiz and they helped you along the way. It

was very, very good. I enjoyed myself. But Frank's personal life

was falling apart. His manager, Terry Lawless, retired to Spain and

his trainer, George Francis, who had been a father figure, had died.

And after 16 years together he and his wife, Laura split up. She and

the children left home. He suddenly found himself entirely on his own.

Ever since he'd started boxing, there had always been somebody

there to rely on to tell him what to do and all those people had left.

It was this solitude and the fact that he was on his own, and no-one

to turn to, except the wrong people. He started DJing and going up and

down the country. Unfortunately some of the characters that latched

on to him during that period of time were probably not the right

sort of people. I understand you've dabbled with cocaine, skunk. Yeah.

And what led you to that? Why did you think "I'm going to try a bit

of this"? I think it's the company that you get yourself in, I don't

know, or curiosity. Sometimes, in boxing I never got involved in

nothing like that, and the end you always get this curiosity. It may

kill the cat, you know what I mean, but I can't really say I'm perfect

and I did dabble, and whatever. Added to this, Frank had underlying

mental health problems. He'd been diagnosed with bipolar disorder,

which was beginning to affect his behaviour. When did you know that

the bipolar was creeping up? couldn't really pinpoint the time

or whatever. I was doing, I think, buying a lot of things. When you

say buying a lot of things, what? Going to the shop and if there were

oranges there I'd buy 20 oranges when I only needed five. Or going

to a shop and buying five shirts when I only needed one. Doing

things like that, and doing odd things. One of the symptoms that

came to me was he would phone every minute. And when he is well you

hear from him once a day, but when he is not well, he'd phone from six

o'clock in the morning until one, two, three or four in the morning.

He'd go marching off and you'd find him in the woods and he'd been

sleeping out there. The classic signs of bipolar, and you can get

it mildly, moderately or extreme. It used to be called manic

depression, which probably sums it up more expressively, because it is

about having manic highs where you are not sleeping or eating and your

patterns of behaviour have changed. Quite often people describe it as

feeling superhuman. But coupled with that is often a very severe,

deep depressive episode as well. And then when the lows would come?

You'd feel really down. You didn't have the energy to get up. You'd

lay in bed. I think after I got divorced this really hit me the

most. In September 2003, Frank reached rock bottom. His family and

friends knew he needed professional psychiatric help. Doctors were

called to the house to section him under the Mental Health Act. What a

terrifying day that must have been. Yeah. Was there any warning? Did

you know they were coming? I didn't know they were coming. All I knew

was a knock on the door and there were some people as the door and

they were there to section me. I believe I should have been

sectioned. I did need it because the kettle was boiling and I let it

boil over. He called me and I was 40 miles away and he said, "You've

got to come and make sense of it." This was at his big home, Stoney

Massey. And I got there as quickly as I could, and the police were

there, nurses, and his gardener and his ex-wife. And they'd been there

an hour, keeping them at bay. He was very ill and if he didn't get

help, we could have lost our World Champion, our much-loved Frank.

took a lot of them to get you into the ambulance? It took a lot. But

I'm not a violent guy. I've done boxing, but the law is the law. If

the police are there, I'm not foolish, I'm not going to start

doing stupid things, I just fiddled around and kept them waiting for

about four hours. Did you? Yeah, they were getting fed up with me.

They'd almost got him in the ambulance and he'd come back out.

And it was like, "Here we go." It was like a game of chase. He'd say,

"I've got to go back in the house" and they said they wouldn't let him

and he'd say, "I'm not going without my Bible." Frank was taken

to hospital in a glare of publicity and one newspaper landed a punch

The belt. Of course, it resulted in a headline "Bonkers Bruno." I'm a

sports writer and my copy appears on the sports pages. And this was a

headline on the front page win by the news people. It was very

insensitive. And they apologised, quite rightly. I found it abhorrent

at the time because the man was ill. The Sun had misjudged the public

mood. And again, you had overwhelminging support. Oh, the

letters I got was unbelievable. Like Father Christmas letters. I

didn't realise how many people have a breakdown and mental illnesses,

and whatever. I'm not the only one out there. Gosh, no. They supported

me with prayers and the church supported him with prayers, so

encouraging him. And he would always phone to say, "Pray for me."

In hospital, do they encourage faith? Are you able to get to a

chapel? I definitely went to the chapel. And it did help you? Yeah,

definitely. I had the Bible by my bed all the time. Just to dip into?

I don't know what I'm dipping into. But I do. Where it opens up, you

have a read? Yeah. When you get a big-hearted guy like that, where is

their shoulder to cry on? And I think that's what he ninds the

Bible. In his dark -- he finds in the Bible. Frank spent 28 days

receiving treatment before he came home. Unfortunately, it's not like

when you break a leg or an arm, people can see what you've done.

But with mental illness, there's no obvious signs that you're suffering.

And Frank did suffer a great deal. The first step of your recovery was

admitted to it. Frank has been open about his problems and he and

daughter, Rachel, joined the charity Time To Change which tries

to help remove the stigma with the illness. People avoid your eye.

That's where people need to change their attitude.

We approached Frank and he agreed. And I thought one of the things he

had experience of was stigma and discrimination. But he is very much

a hero and a gem, a national treasure and we thought that having

him on board would help us reach a male audience in particular.

If your teeth hurt you go to the dentist, if your eyes hurt you go

to the opticians. If your head hurts, go to mental health. It's

nice to let it out, because the more you keep it in you explode.

You going to the hospital and taking time out has helped us kids

have your dad back and have a relationship. I think Rachel

brought it to life for everybody, because it is something that family

and friends are affected by, as well as Frank talking about it.

Frank's is an ongoing battle with medges illness. Earlier this year,

he was sectioned again for treatment. It's fair to say that

bipolar never goes away. It needs to be controlled. Frank uses his

health and good food and exercise as part of his medicine. How do you

think attitudes should be change to people going through emotional

disturbance? There's a lot of things that need to be change the,

but we haven't got long enough to talk about it. It's how they come

to your house with the police and ambulance that should be changed.

You need time to let somebody look after your house. They just take

you away for six months without anybody looking after your house,

it's a terrible thing. You're prepared to put yourself out there

as a public voice? Yeah, because it's terrible what they do. It

ain't nice at all. Frightening. Scary. It's not spifing at all.

There will be people watching who are feeling really low at the

moment or confused about why they're not feeling themselves.

What message would you have for them? While you're breathing and

while you've got life there, there's always someone worse off

than yourself and you've just got to accept it some days and go with

the flow instead of trying to fight it. I always think about me, but I

realise there's so many people worse off than me, and you've got

to count your lucky stars, and the man above. He's with you all the

time? Oh, 24/7. What is your day- to-day life like now? I go to the

gym. I try to look after myself. I've got a girlfriend and I'm just

enjoying life and taking things day-to-day. And the money you

certainty Yes, I've still got money, I mustn't grumble, but peace of

mind and happiness and health is more than wealth. Just try and be

happy and if you make some other people happy, it all goes on the

score sheet. Frank is back in the public eye, attending charity

events and inspiring young people and taking strength from his faith.

Who is your best friend? Myself. That's it? Yeah. Do you have other

friends? I don't have too many friends, no. I'm my best friend and

God is my best friend. You still feel him very much with you?

Definitely. I've got my Bible. You've got to have someone to talk

to. And what is God to you? Is he a man? What does he look like? Is it

just a sneelg I think it's a feeling more -- just a feeling? I

think it's a feeling more than anything, because it's a faith that

you believe in and you strongly believe in and get a good buzz off

it. And do you feel loved by him or anybody? I feel loved my -- by my

mum. I'm lucky she's still alive. I'm not a mummy's boy, but she

still gives me a lot of strength and guidance in life. And your

children? Oh, yeah, they give me strength. They still give me

problems. They give you problems? No, I give them more problems!

you have four of them now? Yeah, Freya is seven. Franklin will be 13

in March. Nick lay is in her 30s, and Rachel. And have any of them

got children? No, I'm not a granddad yet. How important is

Christmas to you? Very important. It's a nice time to have Christmas,

a very special day. What will you be doing? I'll be at home. The kids

will probably come round and get their presents and whatever and

just have a quiet one. Do you go to church? Sometimes I go to church.

This year, I'll make a special effort and go to church. And what

presents would you like to sneev I've got all the presents I need.

I'll have a little bit more happiness and go somewhere and

think about nothing and have peace and happiness. Frank Bruno, happy

Christmas. Thank you very much, and all the listeners as well - viewers.

Well, Frank has just left and what an extraordinary man he is. How

honest he was about everything in his life. But particularly his

battle with mental illness and it just goes to show, doesn't it, that

you cannot tell from looking at someone whether they are affected

by mental illness or not. It hits anybody at any time and he's been a

very courageous and brave man, not just in his career, but speaking

out about it now to help others. And I love his faith, very simple

and very strong, and clearly very secure.

It's the European champion, and now he's made his path in the world.

Next week, I meet Daniel O'Donnell, the Irish singer with an army of

fans. He talks about his special bond with those fans and talks

about how you nearly gave up the love of his life for his faith.

thought about this thing of being married and children and all and I