Robbie: 'LA living helped me beat drugs'

Robbie Williams has claimed that his relaxed life in Los Angeles helped him to conquer his long-running substance addictions.

The 'Bodies' singer has previously spoken openly about his struggles with drink and drugs, famously entering an Arizona rehab clinic in 2007 to combat his addiction to painkillers.

However, Williams has now insisted that the slower pace of LA living was crucial to his recovery.

He told OK: "I can say it's easier in Los Angeles - everybody talks therapy out there. There's a much better understanding of addiction, depression and ailments in general. There's very much a stiff upper lip in England.

"These days people are softening, people are going to Alcoholics Anonymous and rehab, but it's taken us a long time to stop the stiff upper lip."

The 36-year-old also credited longterm girlfriend Ayda Field with helping him get clean, adding: "It's a perfect headline and I don't say it because it sounds trite but she certainly hasn't hindered my recovery process and my mental stability. She's wonderful."

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