‘I thought, this is dodgy’: Adrian Chiles admits to drinking as many as 38 alcohol units a day and reveals how keeping score saved him from liver disease
Adrian Chiles has revealed how counting the alcohol units he consumed saved him from a dangerous level of drinking.
The presenter, 52, said he has cut down on the booze significantly since keeping score, something he resisted doing for ‘a long time’.
At one point the Radio 5 Live host admitted to drinking as many as 38 units in a day, before getting involved in the eye-opening BBC documentary Drinkers Like Me.
Keeping score: Adrian Chiles has revealed how counting the alcohol units he consumed saved him from a dangerous level of drinking
‘I’ve definitely drunk much less. That came down to counting it. I resisted counting for a long time,’ he told the Series Linked podcast on Thursday.
‘The first time I ever counted was the first day of filming. West Brom were playing Liverpool then it was my mate’s 40th birthday. I totted them all up in the morning, it was something like 38 units.
‘And it didn’t even feel a big drinking day to me. I thought, hang on a bit, this is dodgy.’
Healthier: The presenter, 52, said he has cut down on the booze significantly since keeping score, something he resisted doing for ‘a long time’
Adrian has previously been open about his relationship with alcohol, saying how he had had a pint every day of his life since he was 15.
‘My drinking habits go back a long way. At university, if anyone I liked had said they didn’t drink, well, I probably wouldn’t have ended up being friends with them,’ he said.
And after being axed mid-contract from his high-pressure role on ITV’s Daybreak in 2015, he began to self-medicate with alcohol before receiving a diagnosis of anxiety.
Troubles: After being axed mid-contract from his high-pressure role on ITV’s Daybreak in 2015, he began to self-medicate with alcohol before receiving a diagnosis of anxiety
In 2018, Adrian hosted Drinkers Like Me, which took an in-depth look at his alcohol intake.
During the show the presenter had a life-changing meeting with a doctor who performed a fibroscan – a type of ultrasound – to assess the hardness of the liver.
‘My liver is fatty, which is bad, and there are signs of fibrosis caused by a large amount of scar tissue — both undoubtedly linked to my drinking. In short, I found I was well on the way to having potentially fatal liver disease,’ Adrian revealed to the Mail at the time.
Doctors advise a maximum of 14 units a week – each pint of beer or glass of wine containing two to three units – quite a step down from Adrian’s 50 units a week.
Adrian used the wake-up call to try counting his units, inputing his intake on a phone app, which had an ‘immediate effect’ on him.
During an interview to promote his new show Our Coast, the presenter added: ‘The absolute starting point is to count what you are drinking. I count every day. And I do drink a lot less.
‘So many people say, ‘It really made me think’. I was proud of that.’
Adrian Chiles’ full interview is available on the Series Linked podcast.
On form: During an interview to promote his new show Our Coast, the presenter added: ‘The absolute starting point is to count what you are drinking. I count every day. And I do drink a lot less’
