'I'd still take drugs if they didn't make me fat', says Robbie Williams

The singer Robbie Williams has said that he would still be taking drugs if they did not make him fat.

The singer Robbie Williams has said that he would still be taking drugs if they did not make him fat.

He said that his years of addiction to cocaine, ecstasy and alcohol had given him some of the best times in his life. His main regret was that bingeing on drink and drugs made him "blow up to the size of a small aircraft hangar".

At the moment, Williams, 30, says he is not taking drugs to excess after a long spell at a rehabilitation clinic. But in a radio interview he said: "I think that when I was drinking and doing drugs and all that ... I think I'd still be doing it if I could make good judgement calls and I'd still be doing it if I didn't blow up to the size of an aircraft hangar, because it was a great time.

"Some of the best times in my life happened under the influence of drugs ... and I'm not saying 'go out and do drugs, kids,' but I enjoyed them." Asked if he were confident about staying off alcohol and other drugs, he said: "No, I'm not confident at all."

Williams became addicted after leaving the boy band Take That in 1995. His condition became so severe that Sir Elton John, described as a friend, was said to have "kidnapped" him and arranged for him to be admitted to a clinic.

His drug problems caused his weight to fluctuate - the Oasis singer Noel Gallagher once described him as "the fat dancer from Take That".

Drugs charities criticised Williams for making what they described as irresponsible comments.

Martin Barnes, chief executive of DrugScope, said: "There is no point denying the fact that people take drugs because they enjoy them, which is why it is important that young people receive reliable information about the risks in a way they will listen to.

"Scare tactics about drugs rarely work, but Robbie Williams seems to have gone to the other extreme in underplaying the risks and dangers.

"Robbie Williams's experience of drink and drugs - a multimillionaire singer with a small army of minders and managers - will be a world apart from the lives of millions of young people. Drugs are not safe, and the risks can be much greater than simply putting on a bit of weight."

The two-hour interview will be broadcast on Christmas Day.