Linda Robson was taking "four or five baths a day" at the height of her anxiety battle.
The 61-year-old actress suffered a breakdown 18 months ago and eventually discovered her erratic behaviour was due to an allergic reaction to an anti-depressant but she’s admitted that, at her lowest points, she washed obsessively because she "never felt clean".
She said: "I’ve put a wash on today, but when I was really bad, I was having four or five baths a day because I never felt clean, and obsessing about washing everyone’s bedding and clothes all the time.
"If there was even a couple of teabags in the bin, I’d have to empty it and put it outside."
Linda – who quit drinking a year ago – admitted she has an "addictive personality" and her doctor is now keen for her to stop her reliance on a nicotine nasal spray.
She told The Sun newspaper: "I’ve got quite an addictive personality.
"The doctor is trying to get me off the spray but I said, ‘I’m not drinking, so at least let me have something.’ "
The ‘Loose Women’ star thinks she’s now "as better" as she can be and her biggest obsession is binging on her favourite TV shows.
She said: "I’m as better as I can be really.
"I’m no longer waking up in the early hours of the morning and thinking, ‘Oh God, what am I going to do all day?’
"I go to bed at around 11pm and I wake up at 7am so that’s not bad at all.
"These days, my main obsession is watching box sets."
After taking a year off from ‘Loose Women’ to deal with her problems, Linda returned to the show in January and admitted she was very nervous about getting back on camera to discuss her problems.
She said: "I was so nervous about going in that day because I hadn’t been there for so long.
"I didn’t sleep well the night before, but when I walked in everyone was so lovely that I felt like crying.
"I talked on the show about what I’d been through because I wanted to help anyone else who might be going through the same thing.
"Afterwards, I felt so relieved. I wasn’t forced to explain — it was something I wanted to do because I had been away a long time and people had been asking."
Linda Robson’s washing obsession
