The Shining star Shelley Duvall reveals mental illness battle: 'I'm very sick'

Shelley Duvall, the star of '80s classics like Popeye and The Shining, has admitted she is grappling with severe mental illness.

"I'm very sick," Shelley said in a clip from an upcoming episode of Dr Phil. "I need help."

During her chat, the 67-year-old claimed her life has been threatened by the Sheriff of Nottingham (the fictional villain in Robin Hood) and said she believes a tracking device has been planted in her leg.

She also argued that Robin Williams is not actually dead, just "shape shifting".

"Do you see him?" host Dr Phil McGraw asked her of her late Popeye co-star.

"Have, yes," she replied.

The American talk show host's decision to feature a visibly ill Shelley was met with swift backlash.

"Your exploitive use of Shelly Duvall is a form of LURID ENTERTAINMENT and is shameful," The Shining director Stanley Kubrick's daughter Vivian tweeted.

"You are putting Shelly Duvall 'on show' while she is suffering from a pitiable state of ill health. Unquestionably, this is purely a form of lurid and exploitive entertainment — it's appallingly cruel."

Tweeted another upset fan: "She is not competent enough to grant [Dr Phil] permission." 

Shelley is retired from acting and lives an isolated life in Texas. Her last film was 2002's Manna From Heaven.

Her full Dr Phil interview will air on Friday in the US.

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental illness, contact Lifeline at 13-11-14.