I fear ending up an alcoholic like Dad

TV's Vicky confronts addict fears

- RACHAEL DAVIS

Vicky Pattison has known from an early age that her father is an alcoholic, but she was 28 years old before she could say it aloud.

The TV personality, now 34, recalls a childhood "peppered with moments that I thought were normal, that as an adult I've discovered weren't".

She adds: "I thought houses were loud and noisy and sometimes quite scary and a lot of houses aren't.

"If you'd asked me at eight, nine years old if I was ever going to have a drink, I would have said, 'No...there's no way.

I'm ending up like my dad.

"And I hate that that was even something that was in my mind that young." Now she is coming to terms with what her dad's illness might mean for her.

John's addiction took hold when he was around the age Vicky is now. She admits she loves a drink, and sometimes does not know when to stop, but is terrified of going down the same path.

What if there is a genetic component to alcoholism that she cannot avoid? She confronts this fear in an emotional

Channel 4 documentary, Vicky Pattison: My Dad, Alcohol And Me.