Crissy Rock opens up about being abused by grandfather
Benidorm actress Crissy Rock recalls how she was sexually abused by her late grandfather at the age of 7 – but says she would FORGIVE him if he was alive today
- Crissy Rock, 60, was mentally and sexually abused by her grandfather aged 7
- She was unable to read or write until she was 27 because of the abuse
- The brave actress, from Liverpool, has hailed her career for saving her
- Her grandfather died from a stroke, but she wished he told her why he hurt her
- Despite the pain and bad memories she would forgive her late grandparent
Actress Crissy Rock, 60, bravely opened up about the horrific ordeal she suffered at the hands of her late grandparent.
The Benidorm star, from Liverpool, has revealed she was mentally and sexually abused by her grandfather – who has since passed away from a stroke – from the age of seven.
The actress said flashbacks of her abuse left her unable to enjoy baths or sleep against a bare wall – where some of the horrific incidents took place, but says she would forgive her grandfather if he was alive.
Speaking on Loose Women today, as part of their Never Too Late To Tell campaign, she said: ‘Saying it and talking and reliving it, is totally different. But I don’t want it to be confused with mental health.
‘I’ve always known why I have these anxiety attacks, but I am able now to control it. A smell, a sound, a noise, and then it has this domino effect that transports you right back.
Actress Chrissy Rock, 60, bravely opened up about being abused by her grandfather at the age of seven years old on Loose Women today
The actress, from Liverpool, was both sexually and mentally abused by her relative, but felt she couldn’t tell anyone because she was made to feel she was in the wrong
‘The horrible thing is it’s your granddad and you love them, and you don’t expect this person to turn into what he was.’
She continued: ‘Years ago you all used to live in the same house. My mum and dad moved out, but I loved my Nan that much I decided to stay, my Nan got ill and then she went into hospital.’
Crissy recalled how she was thrown into a freezing cold bath, violently scrubbed and had a pan of water thrown over her – an incident that has left her with a phobia of the bath.
Crissy chose to live with her grandparents when she was younger because she wanted to be close to her Nan, although things worsened when her grandmother went into hospital
Crissy spoke out about her horrific ordeal as a child on Loose Women as part of their Never Too Late To Tell campaign
She continued: ‘I can’t get in the bath anymore. People get in the bath and relax, but for me I was dragged out of my bed by the scruff of my hair, thrown into a freezing cold bath, and had water from a pan thrown over me before I was scrubbed with a scrubbing brush about how disgusting and filthy I was.
‘I was told it was my fault, and they wouldn’t believe me and think I were horrible and stupid. I couldn’t concentrate at school.’
Crissy, who previously revealed she was sexually abused by her grandfather, also revealed how sharing a bed with her extended family has left her unable to sleep against a wall.
The abuse also took its toll on Crissy’s education, as she found she couldn’t focus when she was at school because in the back of her mind she feared returning home, and what her grandfather would do to her.
She explained: ‘I couldn’t read or write until I was 27. I couldn’t think abut a lesson because I was thinking about what would happen when I got home.’
Crissy was unable to focus at school because of the abuse, which meant she was unable to read or write until she was 27 years old
As a result of the abuse Crissy used to self harm, adding: ‘I did a lot of self harming, for 17 years, stupid really. I was in control of when I had pain.’
Crissy hailed her career in the entertainment business as her escape as it was the only time she felt ‘safe’.
The comedian said: ‘Being a comic helped a lot because I had never had a home. You’d go home and didn’t want to be there, so the home I felt safe in was on the stage. No one could take that from me. That was how I coped with it.’
It wasn’t until her grandfather died that Crissy felt at peace, as she looked after him when he was in hospital.
Crissy played the role of Janey in Benidorm, and she has insisted her career massively helped her cope with the abuse
She recalled: ‘When he had a stroke it [the abuse] stopped.
‘When he died I was so angry with him, and thought ‘how dare you just die and not say why. I loved you as a granddad and I don’t understand why you did what you did’.
‘I just sat in the room for three days arguing with this dead person who wasn’t there now.’
Crissy says being on stage was the only time she felt ‘safe’ as she never wanted to return home when she lived with her grandfather in fear of further abuse
Although Crissy – who is married to Julian Buck – felt ‘angry’ after his passing, she has insisted if she had one last moment with him she would ask him why he hurt her, and would forgive him.
She said: ‘If he walked in the door now, I would forgive him. I don’t know why.
‘I can’t change my past, but I can change my future.
‘He’s been dead a long time now, it doesn’t make it any easier. If you can love yourself, then anything else is a bonus.’
In Crissy’s previous autobiography she revealed how her daughter was the product of a shocking rape by a stranger, which took place when she was just 15.
After finding out about the rape, her boyfriend proposed but the marriage soon turned abusive, leading to life-threatening beatings, her book revealed.
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