Lulu breaks down in tears as she discusses battle with 'family disease'

Singer Lulubecame emotional as she revealed her battle with alcoholism.

The music legend, 76, has detailed her drinking struggles in her latest memoir, If Only You Knew, and was moved to tears during a heartfelt chat on BBC Breakfast on Wednesday (September 24).

The Shout performer - who has maintained sobriety for 12 years - described herself as a "highly functioning alcoholic", confessing she managed to conceal her condition even whilst competing on Strictly Come Dancing in 2011.

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She explained: "I'd be working, I'd do my stuff, you know. I could fall on the bed asleep having been drunk.

"But if the alarm would go, I'd be up, put myself together, I'd go to work."

Nevertheless, everything reached breaking point in 2013, reports the Daily Record.

Lulu recalled: "What happened was that my sister and her family were sitting around a table in my house. I'd had my 63rd birthday, I think.

"I'd made lunch for a lot of people, talking about some guy and saying, 'Oh, he's hanging on by his fingernails', meaning he had an issue with alcohol.

"And it just came out of my mouth. I didn't think about it. Just came out of my mouth and said, 'He's not the only one'."

"And the table went silent. And my sister looked at me and she went, 'I know'."

Apart from Lulu's sister, no one was aware of her struggle.

"My son, when I told him, he went, 'Whoa, whoa, wait a minute, mum, are you sure'," she revealed.

Lulu described alcohol as something of a "family disease" and said that it was "obviously in my genes".

"To be very honest about my parents, they were chaotic," she confessed. "And they would throw things, and the noise was hellacious. That was difficult."

The singer began to tear up as she continued: "But, you know, I loved my parents... I miss them... but I also hated their behaviour."

Despite this, the star credited her Glasgow upbringing for giving her the strength to tackle her alcohol issues.

"I have resilience, which I'm very grateful for," the singer expressed. "Because no matter how many times I've fallen down, I bounce up again."

BBC Breakfast airs from 6am on BBC One.

Alcoholics Anonymous can be contacted on 0800 917 7650 or by emailing help@aamail.org.