Was Heath Ledger Bi-Polar?

The late Hollywood star, Heath Ledger, may have suffered from bi-polar disorder, a new book about his life has claimed.

There is a history of the illness in the Ledger family with the book "Heath: A Family's Tale" revealing that one of his uncles, Haydn Ledger, has been diagnosed as bi-polar.

The claims come as photographs emerged of the late star playing a tragic clown in his final movie, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.

Ledger was taking a break from filming the movie, directed by Monty Python's Terry Gilliam, when he died, aged 28, from an accidental overdose of prescription medication in New York last January.

The book, by The Daily Telegraph reporter Janet Fife-Yeomans, reveals that friends believe Ledger's wildly fluctuating emotions, which ranged from euphoria to despair, may have been linked to bi-polar.

The condition is affected by traumas such as relationship breakdowns and Ledger's mental condition deteriorated after he split up with his partner Michelle Williams, the mother of their daughter Matilda.

About three months before Heath's death, his father Kim Ledger told friends at his Perth home of concerns he had for his son's welfare after spending time with him, the book claims.

Haydn Ledger, one of Kim's three estranged brothers, said that he had only recently been told that he was bi-polar and had been undergoing psychiatric treatment.

"I don't mind people knowing that I have the mental illness and it is a shame that it took this long to be diagnosed," Haydn Ledger, 52, said.

The fantasy film, that lets the audience go through a magic mirror and explore their imagination, was completed after Heath's death.