9:26am UK, Monday December 08, 2003

Rocker Ozzy Osbourne has told how he was "wiped out on pills" during his stumbling performances on the reality TV show, The Osbournes.

The British star said he was taking up to 42 tablets a day, including Valium.

180 Ozzy Osbourne mouth open looking scary

A scary moment for Ozzy

The medication had been prescribed by a doctor since fired by the former Black Sabbath frontman.

Throughout the MTV series which was seen by millions of viewers worldwide, Osbourne was seen staggering and slurring his words.

"I was wiped out on pills. I couldn't talk. I couldn't walk. I could barely stand up," he said.

"I was lumbering about like the Hunchback of Notre Dame."

Osbourne's fumbling performances saw him fall over into the sea in Malibu and hit himself in the face while trying to swat a fly.

The 55-year-old said he started abusing prescription drugs last year to help cope with his renewed fame.

Within a few months of an image "relaunch" he had signed a £6.25m contract for the MTV fly-on-the-wall show, met President George Bush and even performed at Buckingham Palace.

The strain proved too much for Osbourne, who said he turned to prescription drugs.

A doctor gave him different drugs to wean him off the addictive pills, he said.

But when Osbourne's wife Sharon was diagnosed with colon cancer the doctor started prescribing him further medication for anxiety.

The doctor has since been given the bullet.