Beyoncé moved to tears by rehab visit

Beyoncé has revealed that she broke down in tears after visiting a rehabilitation centre to research her new movie Cadillac Records.

The popstar, who plays soul singer Etta James in the film, went to the facility to meet with people attempting to overcome drug addiction. James battled heroin addiction for most of the 1970s.

Beyoncé said that she was brought to tears after meeting six African-American women through a New York-based substance abuse charity.

She told Hello magazine: "I said, 'I have to do this movie' - but I was terrified. I never tried drugs in my life so I didn't know about it all.

"It was hard to go to rehab. I learned a lot about life and myself."

The charity's chief executive Howard Meitner added: "It was very intense. Everyone was crying. These were women who have lost everything because of drugs - their homes, their families, their jobs."