I’m a TV star and I was born to find gold – I binned my old life for heartwrenching reason

SALVAGE Hunters star Drew Pritchard has revealed he was forced to ditch drinking and start “from scratch” after a string of personal woes.

The antiques dealer, 53, found fame on the popular programme more than a decade ago, after a lifelong fascination with treasures.

The long-running series follows the decorative salvage dealer as he travels throughout the UK in search of antiques to re-sell.

However, dealing with pressures including a divorce from his wife Rebecca in 2017, Drew decided he had to quit drinking two years ago.

“I’ve had a blip in the middle where everything just got too much for me, which I’m over now and working on,” he told .

“I’ve started again from scratch. I’ve completely binned my old life and started afresh.”

The same year as his divorce, Drew was accused of an affair with a businessman’s wife which led to him being attacked by her husband.

In 2018, he was reportedly banned from every pub in his hometown of Conwy in North Wales.

The trouble followed decades of fascination with antiques after Drew said he wanted to be a dealer by the age of 11.

“My parents are still digging up boxes of old rubbish I found when I was a kid – I’d drag it all home,” he said.

“They even built another shed for me as I’d filled all the sheds in the garden with junk!”

The TV star’s storied career has attracted the attention of celebrity clients including Ralph Lauren and Marco Pierre White.