Content Warning: This page contains a discussion of [self-harm], which some readers may find upsetting.

Stephen Graham delivered an emotional statement at the Emmys on Sunday (September 14), saying he would be ‘[gone]’ without his wife, Hannah Walters.

The British cinema star won the prize for Best Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for his work in Adolescence.

The four-part Netflix series premiered in March and rapidly garnered rave reviews. It tells the story of Jamie Miller (Owen Cooper), a 13-year-old youngster suspected of causing the death of a female friend.

Graham, who plays Jamie’s father Eddie in Adolescence, gave an acceptance speech at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, thanking some of his loved ones.

“My children, Grace and Alfie, and my lovely wife, whom I adore with all of my heart. You are my rock, my world, my soulmate, and you and I both know that without you, I would be [gone],” he told the audience and the millions watching at home.

“I love you with all of my heart. Namaste to everyone, and many thanks.”

Graham spoke on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs in 2019, discussing his mental health difficulties as a child and how challenging things were after moving to London to pursue his aspirations.

“My parents were trying to figure out what was going on with me. I’ll never forget the tears that streamed down both of their faces,” the actor recalled.

“The next day, I attempted [self-harm]. It was really calculated. I had to wear a high-necked sweater. My mother saw something. Then everything came out. Life was worth living, thank goodness.”

The 52-year-old met Walters, who co-produced Adolescence, in theater school in the 1990s, but their relationship did not begin until many years later.

Walters lived in Spain for a while before returning to the UK with aspirations to settle there permanently.

Graham wasn’t sure what he wanted out of a relationship at the time, but Walters’ departure served as a wake-up call.

He added, “She traveled to Spain for a little while, and I couldn’t see her, and she was planning to go there.

She came back, and we hadn’t been on a date in five or six years; we just talked a lot. And I asked, ‘Can I take you on a date?'”

Graham said, “She went, ‘What?'” And we went to see Saving Private Ryan, ate in Greenwich, and were at New Cross rail station when I pleaded, ‘Please don’t go to Spain.’

“She asked, ‘Why?’ I replied, ‘Well, I love you.’ She said she had been waiting five years for me to say that.

The next day, we moved in together. And we have been together ever since.”