CRAIG David has opened up about being bullied at his Southampton school on national TV.

The 7 Days singer and DJ, who grew up on the city's Holyrood estate and attended Bellemoor School, was speaking on BBC Breakfast this morning to promote his new book What’s Your Vibe?: Tuning into your best life.

He told presenters Charlie Stayt and Sally Nugent: "I have experienced depression. I've experienced being bullied at school and being bullied and ridiculed nationally on TV.

"I talk about the reasons why I maybe had to move away to Miami and came back and the healing I had to go through. It's in story form so people can hopefully resonate with it. It's not about the musician or being in the public eye, everyone deals with depression at different severities.

"You can only speak on bullying if you've really experienced it, you can only really speak on depression if you've experienced it and it took me to a dark place that, being a positive person, I ever thought I'd be speaking about."

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Craig, who played a sold-out intimate show at The 1865 to promote his new record 22 at the weekend, was ridiculed on the TV sketch show Bo' Selecta, written and performed by comedian Leigh Francis.

In the sketch, Francis dressed up and wore latex facemasks for his caricatures of stars, including the celebrated Southampton singer.

Daily Echo:

Craig's character in the show used catchphrases such as 'Can I get a rewind?' and  became synonymous with the artist just as his career was on a downturn. 

The Channel 4 show has since been removed from all viewing platforms and Leigh Francis made a grovelling apology.

Craig David has gone on to enjoy a major resurgence with his TS5 DJ set selling out festivals, clubs and arenas all over the world.

His much-anticipated first book takes the reader on a journey from his early days in Southampton working with The Artful Dodger, to his overnight chart-topping success, through to the present day, and everything in between.

It is released on Thursday (October 6).

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