Kerry Katona was first introduced to drugs but her own mother as a teenager but in a moving interview, she says there is ‘life after drugs’ as she celebrates sixteen years clean

Kerry opens up with great honesty about her troubled past(Image: Adam Gerrard / Daily Mirror)

Kerry Katona has admitted that reading about Freddy Brazier allegedly taking drugs with his gran, a lot of memories of her previous drug-talking days – which began when her mum offered her speed at the age of 14 – came flooding back. And the former Atomic Kitten star, speaking exclusively to OK!, says her own experiences and relationship with her mum have been on her mind a lot lately, because of Freddy.

The 44 year-old, who has been drug-free for 16 years, has offered a stark warning to the 20-year-old, who is the younger brother of EastEnders star Bobby: “I know he’s admitted he has a problem with smoking. He’s an adult and can make his own choices, but with drugs, it is a very, very slippery slope. I’ve seen it happen.”

The star has imparted some well-meaning advice to Freddy Brazier following his recent comments about rehab(Image: Instagram/jeffbrazier)

Freddy, the son of Jeff Brazier and the late Jade Goody revealed last week that he wanted to check into rehab in Spain, after a reported falling out with his dad and big brother. The model, just four when Big Brother star Jade died of cervical cancer, was recently photographed smoking what appeared to be a cannabis joint with his maternal grandmother, Jackiey Budden – a former drug addict – amid rumours he’d moved in with his nan in Bermondsey, going against his dad’s legal efforts to keep them apart.

But after claiming he wanted to go to rehab, he made a U-turn days later, saying he just needed a “holiday”: “I want to be happy, be in a healthy relationship and have a healthy relationship with my nana and my father.”

But Kerry feels rehab is the right way forward. She said: “I commend Freddy for wanting to go to rehab. You can explore your emotions and work out what’s really going on. It’ll open your eyes and be one of the best things you ever do. You’ll meet inspiring, supportive people. I understand that he just wants to be his own person, but relationships are easily broken and hard to repair – and we never know what tomorrow might bring.

“Freddy’s lovely mum Jade was taken way before her time and I’m sure that hurts. My advice would be to treasure his relationship with his dad, who adores him. Life can be tough, but drugs are never the way to deal with difficult emotions. In a split second, you’re given a choice – and that choice can f**k everything up.

“I sometimes think what would’ve happened if I’d died from an overdose, like my late husband George. The pain and shame for my family doesn’t bear thinking about.”

She added to Freddy “I know you love both your nan and your dad to bits. Focus on that love, and get to rehab. It’s not a magic wand, but you can start learning new ways to cope with what life throws at you. Above all, I’d like him to know that there is life beyond drugs.”

Kerry admits she loves her mum Sue, but they’ve had a fractured and unhealthy relationship(Image: Kerry Katona)

Recalling her own dark experiences with drugs, she recalled: “Mum gave me drugs when I was 14. She was my mum, so I thought it was normal. But that’s a very unhealthy co-dependency. It was the most disgusting thing I’d ever tasted. But I soon got used to the high it gave me”, Later progressing to cocaine, she admitted sadly” “It was the only friend I had, the only thing that was always there for me.”