Bannatyne: 'I was close to suicide'

Duncan Bannatyne has admitted that he "came very close to considering suicide" during the mid-1990s.

During an interview on Radio 4's Desert Island Discs, the Dragons' Den star confessed to suffering from depression after the breakdown of his first marriage.

"In the run-up to the separation I was very, very unhappy," he told the radio show. "I would get in the car, drive to work, stop in a lay-by and just start crying. I came very close to considering suicide. I knew life just wasn't right.

"When you have got a nice house and a nice wife and kids and money, how can you not be happy? But I just knew it wasn't right." The millionaire entreprenuer re-married in 2006 to Joanne McCue.

Bannatyne also revealed on the show that he is a much more "emotional" person than he is often portrayed on TV. "I try to hide it, but it's there," he said. "I go with the children to the movies and sit and cry."

The Scottish business star will compete against Peter Jones in a Strictly Come Dancing Sport Relief special this weekend.