Exclusive: Somerville Beset With Personal Issues; KTVU Anchor Still Haunted; Buds Worry of Relapse

HAS FRANK SOMERVILLE had a relapse? No, at least not on my radar. If he has, it's only he that knows. But there's several issues affecting the KTVU anchor.

The people at KTVU, including those that aren't necessarily in his corner, are worried he may be on the verge of yet another personal crisis. A drama that certainly caused his meltdown on camera; the Sunday night before Memorial Day when the world saw him slur his words, look and sound uncomfortable and expose his night full of mistaken sleeping pills (according to him) and a few too many beers.

Somerville, under the cover of August darkness and without any promos or fanfare, returned to KTVU; his disposition has seen a more reserved man. He isn't talking about what happened; Fox bosses have told him to keep his mouth shut and simply read the teleprompter. But his performance has heated up speculation that he's once again suffering from deep depression and his on-air persona is back to its nervous stage. He looks uneasy and he's gripped a pen way too tight. His face looks beaten and his shoulders have a noticeable droop when he's doing a stand-up at the top of newscast.

Somerville is still dealing with a nasty divorce; a break-up fueled by his penchant for dating prominent younger women that were not his wife. He had to sell his Oakland Hills home. His contract is up in March 2022 and it's all but certain, even if he were to keep clean, KTVU/Fox won't retain him. Only because KTVU has no one presently to REPLACE him probably was key to his return. But that's all temporary. And it's that aspect, one of many that currently HAUNTS him and his friends and associates worried.