I’m a Celebrity - Cerys Matthews´ drink danger

16 January 2008 - Cerys Matthews’ friends have pleaded with the star to stop drinking.

The former Catatonia singer found love with fellow ‘I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!’ contestant Marc Bannerman last year, but friends are worried Marc is a bad influence on Cerys - who checked herself into rehab in 2001 for drug and alcohol addictions.

One friend told Britain’s Closer magazine: "We’re all worried sick about what Cerys is getting herself, into. She goes to the pub or drinks at home with Marc nearly every day. It’s dangerous - she’s not good with alcohol.

"At the moment she’s happy because she’s in love, but what happens when they have their first big row or they split up?

"Marc is the last person she needs in her life at the moment. He’s a love rat and has a history of heavy drug use and drinking. It’s just not good for her.

"Marc’s due to return to London for a few weeks later this month and we’re all hoping Cerys will stay behind in Wales and spend less time in the pub."

Mother-of-two Cerys first hit the bottle after splitting from her boyfriend, Catatonia bandmate Mark Roberts, in the late nineties, and revealed recently she had to drink a bottle of wine so she could get to sleep at night.

She said: "I’d been taking heroin and my health was really suffering. At one point I just couldn’t see a way out. In the end, I reached a point where I had to change simply to stay alive."

But Cerys’ good intentions to stay off the alcohol went down the drain when former ‘EastEnders’ star Marc moved into her Welsh home, and the couple are often seen spending time together at local pubs.

A source at Porthgain’s The Sloop Inn said: "Cerys came in on December 19 and downed nearly six glasses of white wine and several pints of Guinness while Marc had seven pints. Most people would have been rolling drunk, but Cerys was just merry.

"She was the life and soul of the party. She’s always in here with Marc."

Cerys’ spokesman could not be reached for comment, while Marc’s refused to comment.

(C) BANG Media International