Nathan Evans has opened up about his struggles with anxiety before finding fame as a viral sensation on TikTok.

The sea shanty crooner from Airdrie skyrocketed to fame amid the pandemic when he released a TikTok video of himself singing the 19th-century tune Wellerman.

Now, the 28-year-old has opened up about his mental health struggles before finding fame in a new BBC documentary, the BBC reports.

Before his internet success led to a record deal and a Number 1 single, Nathan was working as a postman.

He told the documentary What Next for the Wellerman? that he had only been in the job a few months, having quit his position in the building trade as a steel erector due to panic attacks.

He said: "Having to get up at 5.30am and do 12 hours on shift and it was always hard graft as well.

"When it's cold, it's dreadful. When you are outside and dealing with the cold it's quite miserable."

He added: "There was one day I was on site - my chest went, my breathing went and I started getting sweaty and I thought 'I am going to start crying here'.

"I started having a panic attack in the cherry picker and I was like 'I'm not doing this any more'."

When he found himself off work for a couple of months, Nathan leaned into his music efforts, sharing videos across platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

Fans started to suggest songs for him to cover, and when Nathan released Wellerman in late 2020, it was an instant hit.

Nathan hopes the new documentary will help people see him as an artist and not just "The Wellerman guy from TikTok".

The documentary airs on Thursday, July 6 at 10.30pm on BBC Scotland.