PAUL SCARED OF ANT-STYLE CRASH
Addict fears he will relapse
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PAUL Danan is terrified he could be on the brink of an Ant McPartlin-style rehab meltdown.
The recovering addict is so petrified of a relapse following a shoulder injury he will not even allow himself to use heavy painkillers.
He recently messaged the I’m A Celebrity presenter, saying: “Really wish you well, bless you bro.” Pals say the Love Island star is so frightened of being sucked back in by his addiction he will now take only paracetamol if he hurts himself.
He has had several stints in rehab for Class A drugs such as heroin and cocaine. But it was a motorbike accident in 2010 which led him to develop a major painkiller addiction.
His problem has echoes of the predicament of stricken Ant, who is currently in rehab. Paul injured his shoulder and necked pills to stave off the terrible pain.
He revealed: “If you try to come off them the withdrawal makes you ill, really, really sick and it’s so hard to stop that.
Disease
“The doctors thought I was depressed but I wasn’t. It was just the drugs that were clouding my mind.
“Addiction is an illness, a disease that kills and should not be taken lightly.”
Paul claims to have been clean for years since a heroin overdose almost killed him.
A close friend of the former Hollyoaks star said: “It’s a constant worry and it’s a constant battle. That’s why he’ll only ever take paracetamol at worst if he’s in pain.
“Anything more and he fears getting the old addiction back.
“He reached out to Ant a few weeks back after hearing about his addiction. It’s always close to his mind and Ant’s ordeal brought back all the memories.”
The Saturday Night Takeaway star, 41, shocked fans after announcing he was checking himself into rehab for booze and prescription drugs.
Music mogul Simon Cowell, 57, praised him for speaking out.
He said: “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.
“I’ve worked with him for 16 years. All I can tell you about Ant is he’s one of the most genuine people you’ll ever meet.”
Last night’s Celebrity Big Brother show saw the glamorous housemates taken down a peg or two during a gunge task.
The celebrity quiz revealed Trisha was once paid £70,000 to spend the night with an NBA player. SARAH Harding begged Cheryl to heal their bitter rift, telling her: “We used to be sisters.”
The CBB star held out an olive branch to her ex-Girls Aloud bandmate on last night’s show.
Sarah, 35, appeared to send a clear message that she would be happy to bury the hatchet with her former best friend, saying: “We were like sisters. We went through a lot together.”
But friends reckon Cheryl will be angry, with one saying: “Cheryl would prefer to let bygones be bygones instead of dragging up the past.”