Forum
Please register! If you are registered, please log inagain !
[NB: your old dvd forums / digitalfix login will not work]
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/jul/27/bill-oddie-naturalist-and-broadcaster-dies
Ah, that's a huge part of my childhood there.
Jimmy Cricket
I remember the name from decades ago, but I don't ever remember seeing him work.
Just caught a clip on YT, and although the presentation is (obviously) very dated, he was extremely good.
His official Instagram posted that he actually passed away on February 10 of this year and the family wanted to mourn until now.
If you liked grizzly horror films from the 89s & 90s chances are he did the SFX in one of them: Big Trouble in Little China, couple of Elm Streets, Society and of course, Freaked.
Such a shame. Great in film and TV.
Key points based on her own public statements and contemporaneous reporting; no independent medical records are available.
- Teen years (around age 15–16): Someone on her professional team gave her “happy pills” (which she believed were amphetamines) before red carpets and interviews for Heroes to boost energy and pep. She described this as a “gateway drug” that led toward pharmaceuticals and addiction. She later requested them herself. -- telegraph.co.uk
- Opioids: She developed a dependency on opioids (pain pills), including after an old neck/back injury (from filming Racing Stripes) flared up. She said her tolerance rose quickly and it became a problem; she used them at times alongside or to manage alcohol cravings. -- nypost.com
- Alcohol: This became a major issue, especially after the traumatic 2014 birth of her daughter (postpartum depression, anxiety, and related trauma). She described heavy daily drinking (e.g., bottles of wine, Fireball, later vodka), needing it to function, and using it to numb emotional pain. It escalated to the point of jaundice/liver issues; a doctor warned her she could be dead within five years if she continued. -- people.com
- Prescription medications: She mentioned becoming dependent on Klonopin (a benzodiazepine/central nervous system depressant prescribed for anxiety after treatment for postpartum depression). She also referenced powerful sleep aids prescribed in treatment and later struggled with them. In one account, she noted walking into rehab addicted to one substance and leaving dependent on another. -- usatoday.com
- Treatment and recovery: She entered rehab multiple times (including around 2015 during Nashville and an eight-month stay around 2020). She spoke of achieving sobriety through trauma therapy and inpatient treatment, describing addiction as “in the rear view mirror” in later interviews (e.g., after her brother’s 2023 death). She had periods of relapse. -- ew.com
- She linked these struggles to Hollywood pressures as a child/teen star, postpartum depression, chronic pain, anxiety, domestic abuse in a later relationship, and other traumas. Her Nashville character’s storylines often mirrored aspects of her real-life challenges with alcohol, pills, and mental health. -- usatoday.com
- Regarding her death, police reports mentioned a bag of medications (details redacted; reportedly multiple substances) that her boyfriend showed officers, plus Narcan at the scene, consistent with the reported possible overdose context—but the official cause remained pending toxicology at the time of available reports. -- nypost.com