ADRIAN Chiles has urged people to be more aware of their alcohol intake after revealing he has been drinking six pints of Guinness a day.
The 51-year-old presenter said it was "horrifying" to add up his daily alcohol consumption after a doctor warned he was risking liver failure, or even death.
Adrian said he had been "undoubtedly dependent on alcohol" as he spoke about his battle with crippling anxiety in a candid interview to the Radio Times.
He revealed he was diagnosed with the disorder back in 2012 shortly after he was axed from the ITV breakfast show Daybreak alongside co-host Christine Lampard.
"Anxiety had begun to affect my work. It became difficult for me to get the words out in the right order," Adrian said.
Thank you to #adrianchiles for being brave enough to open up about #anxiety & #alcohol. How much do you drink? Are you secretly dependent? BBC News - Adrian Chiles 'horrified' at drinking 100 alcohol units a week https://t.co/sWB4VmyO6B
— MIND|BOX (@MindBoxChange) August 21, 2018
"I'd gone from somebody who could ad lib for hours on end to the opposite. One night at Wembley, I looked at the autocue and I could hardly get the words out."
He said most of his drinking was "completely mundane and harmless", adding: "I don't really get drunk, I don't misbehave, I don't drink during the day, I don't drink alone, I don't particularly stay up late.
"I just drink something every day. The only days I literally drank nothing were when I was broadcasting in the evening.
"There are loads of us who just drink too much and I just wondered why I was so dependent on it in a small way, or is it a big way."
New documentary
The BBC 5 live host is highlighting the dangers of everyday drinking in a new documentary for BBC2.
Describing himself as a "social drinker", he said he wanted to make the programme after becoming interested in people's ideas of what "alcoholism" actually means.
For the documentary, called Drinkers Like Us, Chiles recorded how many units he was drinking - and at 80 to 100 units per week, his consumption was well over the recommended weekly 14 units.
He says he has now overhauled his lifestyle after his doctor told him he "can't carry on like this" due to potential cirrhosis of the liver.
"The word 'alcoholic' is outdated, but I am undoubtedly dependent on alcohol to some extent – and if I am, thousands of others are," he added.
"I think middle-aged 'supposedly moderate' drinkers need to take a look at ourselves.
"I encourage anyone, don't judge yourself, don't panic you're not going to drop dead, but go on an app like 'Drink Less' and measure what you're drinking, be honest with yourself for three weeks."
