Coogan's booze and drugs shame

Steve Coogan has spoken of the cocaine and booze-filled night out that ended in his hotel bedroom with two lapdancers.

The Alan Partridge star has confessed to the stories circulating last week ­ though he says his dalliance with the dancers got no further than oral sex ­ and has promised to seek help for his drink and drug problems.

He told the News Of The World: "I'm such an idiot for doing it.

"I did a few lines of cocaine. It is madness - getting drunk, doing drugs, then going back to the hotel with two girls.

"Some people can drink. I can't. It turns me into someone else. I didn't fall off the wagon, I crashed into a brick wall. "

The married 39-year-old took Joanne Young, 22, and Jenny Ryan, 23 to his hotel 11 days ago after a charity performance at London's Royal Albert Hall.

He said: "I was on such a high. The night had been a huge success. You have to understand it was one of those things people do when they're pissed. I was really, really drunk."

Coogan admitted he attended an American clinic last year to tackle his problem ­ and promised to get help again.

The paper quotes a friend saying: "When you're as creative as Steve, it's easy to get sucked into drugs and drink. He's aware he must sort it out. "

This is not the first time Coogan has confessed to taking cocaine. A week before winning the Perrier Award in 1992, Steve was taken to hospital after taking it for the first time.

Published: 11 Apr 2004