Former Look North presenter who lost son to suicide says 'we're losing far too many good people'

Ross McCarthyRoss McCarthy
Ross McCarthy
Former Look North presenter Mike McCarthy has said “we’re losing far too many good people to suicide” as he honoured his late son’s plea to campaign for better mental health support in the UK.

Ross McCarthy was 31 years old when he took his own life after a 10-year struggle with severe depression, his father said.

Speaking on World Suicide Prevention Day (Sep 10) Mr McCarthy, who is also a former Sky News and BBC correspondent, said his son thought he had turned a corner at Christmas, when he was last with him.

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But Ross died in February, leaving a fiancee, Charlotte, and a three-year-old son, Charlie.

Ross McCarthy (right) with his family. His father Mike McCarthy (second right), is carrying out his late son's wishes by campaigning for better mental health support.Ross McCarthy (right) with his family. His father Mike McCarthy (second right), is carrying out his late son's wishes by campaigning for better mental health support.
Ross McCarthy (right) with his family. His father Mike McCarthy (second right), is carrying out his late son's wishes by campaigning for better mental health support.

Mr McCarthy said: “Ross left a long farewell letter in which he addressed each member of the family and asked us if we would campaign for better mental health support.

“After 10 years of struggling with severe depression – and I mean struggling, as Ross was a true warrior – he tried his very, very best to help himself and to reach out to others for help. And he thought that he had reached salvation.

“But we’ll never know for sure why he took his life. We think it’s because the depression came back with a vengeance when he was least expecting it.”

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He said: “So anything that I can do now to honour Ross’s request to campaign for better mental health provision in this country I will do and the family as a whole is taking comfort from the fact that there are so many people out there who are supporting us in what we’re trying to achieve.”

Mr McCarthy has helped set up a new group in Sheffield, where he lives, to encourage men to talk to each other.

He said: “Let’s talk about it. Let’s be open about it. Let’s bring it out of the shadows. Suicide is lurking in a dark corner and, I think partly because of that, it doesn’t get the funding it deserves in terms of suicide prevention, it doesn’t get the attention it deserves.

“This is the biggest killer of men under 45 in the UK. If that was anything else, we’d be talking about how do we solve that?”

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