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Richard Madeley has described his “very addictive personality,” which led to him smoking three packs of cigarettes per day until he was 40.

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Richard Madeley has revealed he used to secretly smoke 60 cigarettes a day – and shared the one thing that finally made him quit the unhealthy habit.

The 69-year-old presenter, who shot to fame presenting TV shows with his wife Judy Finnigan, 77, confessed to having a ‘very addictive personality’. This is why he never tried drugs, as he was already so hooked on smoking.

Richard claimed to have “never even smoked a joint” when he spoke with Busted star Matt Willis on his On The Mend podcast. He explained to Matt why, saying, “I was a very heavy smoker until I was 40. I once had a daily intake of 60 to 3 packs, which is ridiculous.

I’m a very addictive person. I was aware of this, and smoking later proved it to me. As a result, I’ve always been terrified of heavier items. I do, in fact, drink a lot of wine. But I get it. “

In terms of cocaine or pot, Richard continued, “I’ve always steered clear because it terrifies me. In terms of cocaine or pot, as we used to call it. And I’m afraid I’ll fall into the same trap as you did. I never trust myself, so I never do.

3 images to be seen

3 images to be seen

Richard claimed that everyone smoked “back in the early seventies” and that he started smoking when he was 16 when he got his first job as a reporter for a local newspaper.

You were chain smoking as you were typing because you were covering a story and you returned to your typewriter at your desk and couldn’t write your story without getting a fag on the go. But it aggravated my severe addiction.

Richard claimed it was interviewing Nigella Lawson’s first husband John Diamond, a journalist for The Guardian and The Times, who passed away in 2001 at the age of 47. He recalled the moment when he finally gave up.

He was dying while he was writing a diary about dying for The Guardian, and he had throat and mouth cancer as a result of smoking when he was in his late 30s or early 40s.

“It was a tragedy, and yet it was gripping the way he talked about his shortening days and his suffering. And he came on This Morning when he probably had about three weeks to live.

He had had a lot of his oesophagus removed, and he had had tumors that caused him to have had half of his tongue removed. He had a bad attitude. One side of his mouth was constantly dribbling. And because of the surgery on his tongue, he was very difficult to understand.

I said to him in a slightly foolish way, “John, you’re in this plight because of smoking,” about halfway through this live interview. And he said, “Of course I f***ing am,” which we didn’t receive any complaints because the F-word couldn’t really be heard.

I turned around and grabbed my packet of Benson &amp, Hedges down and looked at it as I went back to my dressing room. The four or five remaining items I removed went down the toilet. If I could do anything to stop it, I knew that was it because I could not allow myself to end in that manner. And since then, I’ve never smoked anything.