I took class-A drugs, says classical singer Katherine Jenkins

HER heavenly voice, flowing golden hair and squeaky-clean image have made her a darling of the middle classes. But yesterday award-winning mezzo-soprano Katherine Jenkins admitted that she had taken class-A drugs on her way to the top.

The former choirgirl revealed in a Sunday newspaper that she had taken cocaine, ecstasy and cannabis before landing a record contract in 2003.

Jenkins, who signed a £6 million recording contract with Warner Music last month, admitted snorting up to three lines of cocaine a night, and told of how she took ecstasy pills after falling in with a "bad crowd" when she first came to London.

She said: "I tried one line of cocaine the first time, and after that maybe five or six times. It was usually in private in friends' houses, though I did once take it in the loo of a London club."

Jenkins, 28, admitted she could have "ended up like Amy Winehouse". She gave up drugs five years ago and had decided to speak out to deter others from taking them.

The singer arrived in London in 1997, aged 17, to study at the Royal Academy of Music. She blamed a mixture of pressure and curiosity for her first steps in the drugs world, saying: "I was offered cocaine by someone. Having said 'No' so many times before, curiosity just got the better of me and I said 'Yes'. I thought it would be fun."

But the effects were not what she expected and the cocaine left her feeling "absolutely terrible" with "the worst hangover in the world". The singer also said ecstasy left her feeling depressed.

The Welsh singer also admitted eating cakes with cannabis inside.

She said: "I was young and silly and never really thought about the con sequences. I just liked going out with friends, getting drunk on too many Malibu and Cokes, and then someone would produce some drugs and occasionally I would take some."

Jenkins, whose boyfriend is former Blue Peter presenter Gethin Jones, confessed to taking cocaine on up to seven occasions, as well as ecstasy six times and cannabis cakes seven or eight times. But she said she stopped taking drugs after landing a record deal in 2003 worth more than £1 million.

"I knew in that moment that I had to stop taking drugs. I'd been given this amazing opportunity and I just couldn't let myself mess it all up for the sake of cocaine or ecstasy," she said.

The singer, from Neath, south Wales, last week landed a £6 million contract with Warner Music, cementing her position as one of Britain's highest-paid classical music stars. With a repertoire featuring arias, hymns and classical crossover music, Jenkins has had four classical No1 albums to date and performed at venues all over the world.

She said she was ashamed and was worried how people would react to the revelations, but she stressed it was something she did a "very long time ago" and she lived her life "very differently now".

Chris Hudson, a spokesman for the National Drugs Helpline, said: "Taking drugs like cocaine and ecstasy is extremely dangerous. Alcohol and cocaine together can be particularly dangerous, as the substances interact in the body to produce a toxic chemical. There are also many side-effects."

PROFILE

KATHERINE Jenkins was born in June 1980 in Neath, south Wales.

After graduating from the Royal Academy of Music in London she went on to release four classical number one studio albums selling more than four million copies. Her first album, Premiere, made her the fastest-selling mezzo-soprano of all time. She later became the first British classical artist to have two number one albums in the same year.

Last week, she signed a contract worth £6 million with Warner Music.