Freddie Starr's wife tried to kill herself to escape his torture and abuse

Sophie Lea has told how her marriage to Freddie Starr descended from happiness into hell after his arrest on suspicion of a historical child sex attack.

The 38-year-old said the TV comic became an abusive husband who physically and mentally tortured her so badly over time it led to her ¬self-harming and left her suicidal.

And after he cruelly told her he would “do the job himself” Sophie tried to kill herself in a desperate bid to escape her nightmare.

In her first interview since Starr’s death aged 76 at his Costa del Sol home last week, Sophie revealed she had to drive herself to hospital with slit wrists because he went to bed.

And as she was still recovering in a psychiatric hospital from a second suicide bid, Starr dumped her ¬belongings in a skip and fled to Spain.

Sophie also branded him a “control freak” who would only allow her out of the house to do the weekly shop then accused her of sleeping around.

But despite her horror marriage, she is now organising his funeral – so his children can say a final goodbye.

Starr was first arrested in 2012 by Operation Yewtree police after he was accused of groping a teenager and later held three more times.

Mum-of-one Sophie said: “He changed into a different person and lost faith with everything.

“He would wake up in the morning loving you to bits, go for a snooze in the afternoon and wake up hating you.

“He would throw every single bit of vile abuse at me.

“He abused me mentally, emotionally and physically until I broke.

“I would have much rather been hit than have to deal with the constant cruel words. He told me I was ¬worthless, that I was absolutely nothing. He was massively paranoid.

“I don’t remember half the things he said because it went from words to being noise. When you are on the receiving end of that abuse constantly every single day there is nowhere to escape.

"I had nobody to turn to. He stopped me leaving the house. I was only allowed to go out to go to Tesco to do the food shop.

“If I was a bit longer than he thought was necessary I would be getting accused of cheating, of s******g every single person. He wouldn’t even let me speak to my son Elliott unless he was present.

"He thought we were sending messages via our eyes. Whenever Elliott came into the room I would have to lower my gaze in case I would get accused of sending secret messages.

“He would get all my clothes and sit there with a knife and rip them all up.