ITV's This Morning host Ben Shephard had to step in to make an apology to viewers on Wednesday, after singer Lulu swore live on air. The 76-year-old pop icon appeared alongside hosts Ben and Cat Deeley to promote her new memoir, If Only You Knew, which details the extent of her struggles with alcoholism for the first time. "I struggled for years secretly; nobody knew I was an alcoholic," she told Ben and Cat. "It was never bad because I was never a fall-down drunk. My son didn't know, he said 'Wait a minute, Mum, are you sure?' and Elton [John] said 'How the [expletive] did I miss that?'"
Ben Shephard apologises
Before Lulu could continue, Ben quickly interjected: "Elton has an interesting choice of vocabulary, we just need to be careful because it's quite early! Apologies – you'll understand that it was Elton saying that and not Lulu." Realising her slip-up, Lulu clapped a hand over her mouth and said: "So sorry, I'm so sorry."
Lulu's alcoholism
The singer – famed for her hit song, Shout – also revealed she's been sober for more than a decade, but admitted how deeply she once tried to hide her drinking. "I was very secretive, I was so ashamed of it," she shared. "I would go out and have a couple of drinks, then go home and have another. You know you're an alcoholic if you can't stop. I have a lot of friends who'll say, 'Oh I've had enough,' but I couldn't do that."
Going to rehab
Recalling a conversation with her sister, who is a psychotherapist, Lulu realised her alcohol struggles weren't so subtle. "My sister said very kindly, 'I know, and I've known for some time.' The cat was out of the bag… I couldn't ask for help before, but in that moment, I looked at my sister and said, 'I have to go to rehab, don't I?' She said 'I think so.' I was there the next day." Later in the interview, she admitted: "All I can say is, I've had so much help, I'm so lucky," and added: "Music saved my life."