When Was Spike Milligan First Diagnosed With Bipolar?

Sources claim that Spike Milligan got diagnosed with bi polar disorder during the 50's.i.e. during the course of the show. He and his companions were unaware of it when Milligan's comedy 'The Goon Show' first began in the year 1951. According to his companions he suffered from close to ten mental break downs.  Milligan also was the prime performer as well as scriptwriter on the show.

Towards the end of the show, his illness got worse forcing him to keep away from recordings.  His conditions deteriorated to such an extent that 12 episodes were performed without him. Despite his illness, however, his sense of humor never seemed to fade. He passed away in 2002 of liver disease.