Heaton: 'I was addicted to diet pills'

Michelle Heaton has revealed that she was addicted to diet pills when she was younger.

The Liberty X star, 31, admitted that she was persuaded to take them by an ex-boyfriend and now believes that they are responsible for the heart condition she suffers from.

She told The Mail On Sunday: "From the age of 18 to 24 I was basically addicted to these caffeine diet pills which, at that time, were widely available in high street chemists. I had a boyfriend who was very much into fitness and he wanted me to be slimmer than I was.

"I tried dieting but wasn't losing weight. On the pills, having been ten-and-a-half stone, I managed to lose two stone. I would take a pill an hour before a meal to curb my appetite - which it did. It was like drinking four cans of Red Bull.

"One day I discovered that these pills had been taken off the shelves in this country and I panicked. I went straight on to the internet and found that I could easily buy them from a US website and happily carried on ordering three months' worth at a time."

She added: "I can't believe I have heart disease at my age, and worse, it's probably my own fault. I would urge anyone thinking about taking diet pills of any sort to think very carefully."