Linda reveals pills sparked booze ordeal
Surging sterling sees local costs tumbling
RETURN Robson yesterday
LINDA Robson revealed on her Loose Women comeback that she had turned to alcohol abuse to deal with her OCD.
The Birds of a Feather star, back on the show after a year off, said her troubles began with a sugar-free diet that meant she started using sleeping pills as she could not have a glass of wine before bed.
Linda, 61, had a bad reaction to the pills.
She explained: “I had really bad anxiety, really bad depression and my OCD kicked into overdrive.
“The medication was making me hyper... then I started drinking again, and not wine, I was drinking anything just to black out.”
But she is better now, saying: “I’m good, I’ve got a few jobs and a few things in the pipeline.”
BRITS will be quids in on holiday this year, thanks to the soaring pound and prices falling in some top destinations around the world.
Tourists from the UK will get more for their money in 33 out of 42 overseas hot spots, a report out today found.
It is based on the total cost in each place of eight holiday staples such as meals, drinks and suncream.
The biggest drop is in Caribbean island Antigua, which works out as being
44% cheaper for Brits.
Nick Boden, of Post Office Travel Money, which did the study, said people hoping to make savings abroad “will have plenty of choice in the coming year – provided sterling holds its value”.
Nick added: “In Europe the best deals are likely to be in Bulgaria, Turkey and Portugal, while further afield Japan, Vietnam and Bali are good bets.”
The research shows sterling is up year-on-year against the vast majority of other currencies, with Brits getting an extra boost due to the price of goods being cut in about half the destinations.
Based on the eight items checked, the cheapest place is Sunny Beach in Bulgaria at £30.68 – 15% less than a year ago. It offers the lowest priced beer (92p) of all the destinations.
The second cheapest resort is Marmaris in Turkey at £44.15 – slightly lower than last year. Third is Tokyo (£48.21) where the Olympics will be held this summer.
In fourth place is the Algarve in Portugal (£49.87), then the Costa del Sol in Spain (£53.16).
Leading the way in Europe in terms of the biggest fall in the cost of the eight items was the Greek island of Corfu – 21% less than last year.
Total costs in Dubai fell 16% but it still has the dearest beer at £8.64.
The most expensive destination in the study is the Seychelles at £165.10, followed by Abu Dhabi at £152.11.
DOWN
Sunny Beach, Bulgaria
Algarve, Portugal
Algarve, Portugal
Hoi An, Vietnam
Mombasa, Kenya
Sunny Beach, Bulgaria
Dubai, UAE
Mahe, Seychelles
Abu Dhabi, UAE
Abu Dhabi, UAE
Bridgetown, Barbados
Mahe, Seychelles