Sir Elton John has detailed how he supports people battling addiction as he did before going sober 31 years ago.
The iconic singer, 74, has spoken openly about his battle with alcohol and drugs which nearly derailed his career and cost him his life - and is determined to help others.
In a candid interview on Saturday's upcoming episode of The Jonathan Ross Show, the star said the kindness of others when he battled addiction inspired him to support others where he could.
Good cause: Sir Elton John has detailed how he supports people battling addiction as he did before going sober 31 years ago - during an upcoming appearance on The Jonathan Ross Show
He said: 'I just ring them up and offer them my support basically… there's been two or three recently, one young and one old and they're doing ok, doing really well. I'm a recovering alcoholic.
'[You learn to] pass the message on and help people when you can. You call them up and give them some support. That's what happened to me... people were so kind to me.'
The star's biopic, Rocketman, was released last year, and Elton recalled how reliving his battles with addiction moved him to tears.
He said: 'I was in bits. It was exactly how I wanted it to be. David, my husband, was producer on it. I wouldn't have changed a thing about it.
Suppport: The iconic singer, 74, has spoken openly about his battle with alcohol and drugs which nearly derailed his career and cost him his life - and is determined to help others (pictured 1975)
'I thought it was honest. I didn't want it to cover anything with saccharin or anything like that. It was true and it ended when I got sober. I was really affected by it. The early bits with my family, it made me weep.'
'It was very moving. I had a lot of support when I was ill and [in] rehab. You support your friends through thick and thin. I had a lot of support when I went through the thin end of the wedge and I never forget that.'
Reflecting on his wild past, he admitted to Variety at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival: 'The life I was leading, flying on the Starship, living in beautiful houses, buying things left, right and center — it was not a normal life.
'I used to have spasms and be found on the floor and they’d put me back to bed and half an hour later I’d be doing the same. It’s crazy.
'I am a survivor. I’ve survived a lot of things. Life is full of pitfalls, even when you’re sober. I can deal with them now because I don’t have to run away and hide', he added.
The star has also blamed his reputation for being a diva on his past cocaine use.
He told the Awards Chatter podcast in 2020: 'I saw someone doing cocaine and didn't know what it was. They said it makes you feel good. So I thought "I will have a go". Worse decision of my life.
'I shouted at people. I wasn't proud of that behaviour because it is not really who I am.
Dark times: He said: 'I just ring them up and offer them my support basically… there's been two or three recently, one young and one old and they're doing ok, doing really well. I'm a recovering alcoholic (Sir Elton, pictured in the 1980s)
'It lead a lot of people to say I've always been a diva. I am not. Now I don't take drugs,' he added.
Elton previously opened about his cocaine habit in his memoirs, which were serialised in the Daily Mail in October 2019.
The star wrote: 'I had started taking cocaine in 1974. I liked how it made me feel. That jolt of confidence and euphoria, the sense that I could suddenly open up, that I didn't
