Actress Kimberley Nixon has shared an emotional update with fans after receiving a clinical diagnosis of autism and ADHD at the age of 39.
The Death in Paradise and Fresh Meat star posted a collage of photographs showing herself crying what she described as “happy tears” whilst wearing a grey jumper.
In her announcement, Nixon revealed she was “still processing” the diagnosis and had not yet read the full report.
“Today I was clinically diagnosed with Autism and ADHD,” she wrote to her followers.
The Welsh actress said the diagnosis had brought her a sense of relief after years of feeling different.
Nixon has built a substantial career in British television and film since her early appearances in Wild Child and Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging.
Her breakthrough role came as Josie in the Channel 4 comedy Fresh Meat, where she portrayed a character who appeared to be a quiet Welsh student but revealed herself to be short-tempered and prone to swearing.
Following Fresh Meat’s success, the 39-year-old actress has maintained a steady presence on British screens.
She has appeared in the BBC drama Ordinary Lies and had a role in the popular crime series Death in Paradise.
In the latter, she played Catrina McVey in the 2019 series. More recently, Nixon featured in ITV’s acclaimed drama The Salisbury Poisonings, which depicted the 2018 Novichok poisoning incident.
“I feel lighter than I have in a long time because instead of feeling like my brain is ‘broken’, I know now that it was just doing things differently all this time,” Nixon explained in her statement.
The actress expressed a desire to comfort her past self, writing: “I want to go back in time and give my younger self a cwtch and save her a lot of time and heartache but I can’t change anything about how I got here really because then I wouldn’t be me.”
Nixon went on to thank her followers for their continued support throughout her journey.
“From the midst of brutal Postnatal OCD through to today’s diagnosis, a lot of you have been with me every step of the way. Thank you, thank you,” she wrote.
Nixon has previously been open about her mental health struggles, particularly her experience with postnatal OCD following the birth of her son.
The actress is a mother to a young boy and shares her life with a supportive partner, whom she recently praised in a Father’s Day tribute.
In her post, she highlighted the often-overlooked role of fathers during perinatal mental illness.
“Sometimes Dads get left out of the perinatal mental illness conversation. I’ve found in a lot of instances, they’re the silent, sidelined heroes keeping everything together,” she wrote.
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Fans responded warmly to Nixon’s diagnosis announcement, with one commenting: “Congratulations on the first day of the rest of your life.”
Another added: “We hope it brings you some self-compassion and understanding.”
