Mike King reveals how he took drugs while working on hit comedy series Game of Two Halves

Mike King has revealed he even took to snorting coke in the TVNZ dressing room to deal with the pressures of being a comedian.

Speaking to Jehan Casinader on Sunday night's episode of TVNZ's The Inside Word, the Kiwi funnyman-turned-mental-health-educator said that during his stint on the hit comedy panel series Game of Two Halves, his life was "so out of control [with drugs and alcohol], I couldn't write any material, I couldn't do anything. I was becoming crasser and crasser".

"I was a master of the mask. On the outside, I'm this aggressive, funny, 'life's a party' comedian, having a good time. Behind it was fear.

Describing the Tony Veitch-hosted show [which ran from 1999 to 2008], which also featured Matthew Ridge, Martin Devlin and Marc Ellis, as a "very UnPC, cliquey little club, an inside joke... that had little to do with sport and more to do with taking the piss out of your friends", King said that "behind the hilarity, was a whole lot of confusion, life-changing events no-one could see".

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Mike King has revealed that his life was so out of control while he was starring on Game of Two Halves that he couldn't write any material.

"When you're at that height of fame and everything's coming your way, your next thought is, 'What happens when this is over?'" he said.

"I realised my comedy's outdated, [and] I'm a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, politically-incorrect comedian… All I see is the end coming.

"So I would be in the changing room just snorting coke and just trying to keep myself together... That was my reality."

King said he grew up as a kid "who just wanted to be loved" and confessed that he had self-esteem issues from a very early age.

"I couldn't stand myself. I thought I was useless – four-foot-11, buck-teeth, big ears. Then one day I told a joke. It was the greatest feeling of my life. All I wanted to do after that was to make people laugh, because it made me feel good about myself."

Mike King now describes Game of Two Halves as a show that had "little to do with sport and more to do with taking the piss out of your friends".

However, looking back now, he said that was "Day 1 of my downfall", because he was getting all his self-esteem from other people.

He said drugs and alcohol "got me from the very first day" he achieved any kind of success.  "Alcohol shut my inner-critic up, so I didn't have to listen to myself – I could actually have some me time. Then, the more you drink, the more you need to drink and other problems emerge."

King said his "destructive lifestyle" came to a head on April 1, 2007. He had given up drugs and alcohol for two weeks after a stroke and he was in Hong Kong when a friend persuaded him to have a drink with him. While having a beer and a cigarette, King called his regular coke dealer in the Chinese city and then spent two days in his hotel room "like Scarface, snorting coke".

After a suicide attempt, he returned to New Zealand and later headed for the TVNZ studios, forgetting that he had been cancelled and replaced on Game by Leigh Hart.

"I remember seeing him in my chair and I stormed into the studio and went what the f... is going on here – I just nutted."

It was while he was in the corridor punching walls, that King said he felt like he came out of himself, thinking, "Man, you have got to get it together – this is just ridiculous".

"That's when I locked myself away for a couple of years to get myself straight."

When asked about King's comments, TVNZ corporate communications manager Rachel Howard said that they had a drug and alcohol policy for staff which outlines expected behaviour.

"We don't comment on individuals and their specific circumstances, but we do commend Mike for being open with his struggles in a bid to help others going through similar challenges."

A finalist in the 2018 New Zealand of the Year Awards, King now tours the country speaking to young people about mental health as part of his work with the Key to Life Charitable Trust.