A bizarre appearance on breakfast television yesterday by cultural icon David Hasselhoff has been attributed to 'tiredness'.

The former Knightrider star has endured a well-documented battle against alcoholism and viewers feared he was drunk when repeatedly quizzing GMTV host Jenni Falconer about her love life and making attempts to woo her. His speech was also noticeably slurred.

But a GMTV spokesman later attributed his behaviour to tiredness: "We do not believe he was drunk. There was no smell of alcohol. He was extremely tired because of his massive promotional tour, but he did everything we wanted him to and was utterly charming."

This view was supported by Hasselhoff's publicist Max Clifford, who said: "David's schedule has been non-stop. He took a sleeping pill at 7pm last night and another at 4am and was up at six. It's no surprise that he is absolutely exhausted."

'The Hoff', as he is affectionately known by adoring fans worldwide, is currently in the UK promoting new single 'Jump In My Car'.