Kylie Minogue: Back with renewed zeal

Kylie Minogue has told how cancer treatment left her so frail and emaciated that she couldn't bring herself to look in a mirror.

And the star, who was diagnosed with breast cancer last year and has been out of the public eye for months as she underwent treatment, said she doubts her once vibrant and energetic live performances will ever be the same again.

However, 38-year-old Minogue said that despite the incredible lows, the illness had renewed her zest for life. "I just want to do everything. I honestly don't want to sound soppy or too clichéd, but that's the way it is. It's nice to take a walk and to see friends. I just can't help but see things differently."

In the first interview since her cancer was discovered, the singer said: "Having had cancer, one important thing to know is you're still the same person at the end, you are the same person during it.

"You're stripped down to near zero. But it seems that most people come out at the other end feeling more like themselves than ever before. You're more 'put diamonds on... I'm not going to wait... wear the diamonds'."

The Australian singer, who scored her first chart hit 18 years ago with "I Should Be So Lucky", announced she had cancer on 17 May last year. She had to cancel her Showgirl World Tour and cut herself off from public life as she retreated to be at home.

Minogue, whose frame was slight at the best of times, said her weight plummeted. "I did lose weight; I had moments when I just didn't want to look in the mirror."

In Kylie: The Interview, to be broadcast by Sky One tonight, she said the cancer had left her in "a dark place".

Minogue will resume her tour later this year, but she warned: "I'm not sure that I'll be able to do everything that I did before.

"There's a whole other world backstage that happens - six times throughout the show. So I said, 'You know what, maybe we won't have quick changes, we'll have slow changes. And maybe even a little chair.'"

And despite her recovery, she added that her battle with breast cancer was not over yet. "I'm still going through it. It's not like, 'Hey, it's all over'."

The Survivor: 'I'm feeling full of energy'

KYLIE ON HER NEW ALBUM: "I've written lyrics about the past year, but it's not depressing. It's not, you know, woe is me, nothing like that. But just in my way, I've said what I wanted to say ... all to a disco beat."

ON RECOVERY: "I feel full of energy at the moment. I'm exhausting everyone. My assistant keeps saying, 'What did they give her? Can you just slow down?' No, I can't. I'm too eager to do things."

ON HER FANS: "I thank all the people who might have thought what they did was very small, but even the smallest thing makes a difference in how you're feeling and your road to recovery."