Luther actor Luke Westlake took his own life while out of work during lockdown, an inquest into his death heard.
The 26 year old was found dead on June 18, 2020 and an inquest took place yesterday in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire.
The court heard a post mortem examination found his cause of death was founding have been hanging and a toxicology report found Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) – a compound found in cannabis – in his system.
Assistant Coroner Michael Walsh recorded a verdict of suicide.
During the inquest, the court heard Luke was worried about being out of work after the first lockdown was brought in last year.
His long-distance relationship had broken down, and the court heard he’d tried to take his own life in April and in June.
The court heard he’d messaged his ex-girlfriend the night before the second attempt and told her of his intentions.
He was found dead the following morning.
The court heard testimony from Dr John Pimm of the Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust’s Healthy Minds service.
The court heard Luke had been going through therapy to deal with childhood trauma and his therapists wanted to focus on tackling his alcohol and drug problems.
Speaking via video ling, Dr Pimm told the court: “If someone is using, it will be very problematic for them to have that treatment.
“You should try to deal with the drug and alcohol problem and stabilise it for a reasonable amount of time.”
Assistant Coroner Michael Walsh concluded the inquest, saying: “Luke was aged 26 years at the time of his death. He had a history of anxiety and depression and substantial misuse by way of alcohol and cannabis, used as a coping mechanism…
“Luke found it difficult to deal with stressful triggers – his relationship and his employment.
“It was noted that it was not uncommon for him to threaten to harm himself – such an occasion occurred on June 17.
“He had threatened to take his life and he had taken cannabis shortly before he died.”
Luke graduated from a top arts school in west London in 2017 and went on to land a string of TV roles.
He played Lee Peck in series five of Luther, as well as appearing as Adam Miller in ITV’s Dark Heart for ITV. His roles also included a turn in the third series of No Offence and in BBC One drama Doctors.
A JustGiving page set up in his name has raised more than £4,000 for the British Association for Performing Arts Medicine to help people in entertainment industry overcome physical and mental health problems.
