Ant McPartlin reveals he almost died in his first interview since leaving rehab

Ant McPartlin has opened up about his addiction to painkillers - and revealed that it nearly killed him.

The 41-year-old TV presenter revealed that he suffered psychosis due to the cocktail of medication he was taking.

And in one terrifying ordeal he was rushed to hospital by ambulance at 5am after a binge.

The star said the drugs made him 'insane' and said he was 'stupid and reckless' to mix them with alcohol. 

He told The Sun on Sunday: 'I was at the point where anything — prescription drugs, non-prescription drugs — I would take.

'And take them with alcohol, which is ridiculous. The doctors told me, 'You could have killed yourself.''

He continued: 'I was insane. It sends you crazy. It was to the point of seeing things.' 

For the first time in three years he is clean of all drugs, and has lost a stone since being admitted into rehab in June. 

The star, who has battled depression, revealed that his dependence on prescription drugs began when he suffered a knee injury in 2014.

He said that despite warnings from his doctor and on the drugs packet, he paid little attention, stating: 'And I drank with them, which was stupid and reckless.' 

Earlier this month Britain's Got Talent judge Simon Cowell told The Sun: 'When someone has the courage to own it, deal with it, made a public statement, we would a million per cent support him. I think he'll be fine.

It is expected that McPartlin will return to screens in November, when he will host the next installment of I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here. 

• This article was first published on dailymail.co.uk and is republished here with permission