Addicted Cardle: 'I could have died'
Former 'X Factor' winner Matt Cardle has said he could have died if he had not spent the last month in rehab.
The singer checked into a clinic after breaking down in front of his family on December 26 due to his addiction to alcohol and prescription drugs.
He told the Sun on Sunday: “The doctor said to me if I’d been left to my own devices for another three or four weeks I might not be here now.”
The 30-year-old said he initially took the anti-anxiety pill Valium to conquer his fear of flying, but went on to lose control.
“I didn’t have my wits about me to even count how many I’d taken,” he said. “It was a lethal situation.
“Towards the end I was so out of it. I was asking people around me how many pills they’d seen me eat.”
Cardle broke down in tears when his nephew gave him a present after Christmas, and the following day he checked in to the Priory clinic in Chelmsford, Essex, after his brother urged him to get professional help.
After receiving four weeks of treatment he said he wanted to warn other people about the effects of mixing pills and alcohol.
“I want to use what happened to me in a positive way to raise awareness of the dangers,” he said.
