Catching up with the teen stars of yesterday can be less a pleasant trip down memory lane and more a gloomy revelation of how far that cute kid has fallen. After they have reached the heights of celebrity at an early age, the remainder of a teenstar’s life can turn into a frenzied grasping to keep what they attained at such a young age. It’s a lot of pressure to put on a young adult and the stress often leads to addiction – and then to rehab. At least that’s the case with Sean Kanan, who became famous as the teenaged star of Karate Kid III, and who is now battling an addiction to prescription painkillers.

Kanan’s struggle with substance abuse is the focus of this week’s episode of Rehab. The emotional reality series explores the world behind the doors of the famous Passages Rehab Centre in Malibu, following seven fallen stars as they confront the demons underlying the addictions that are destroying their lives. Each episode tracks the difficult journey of one of the celebrities as Passage’s dedicated therapists help them turn and face the pain that has driven them to hurt themselves.

With his classic good looks, Kanan had no trouble finding work in feature fims and American soaps following Karate Kid, but now after several arrests for drink driving and a prolonged battle with alcoholism, the work has dried up and an addiction to Vicodin has taken its place. Facing the end of the career he loves, Sean is compelled into treatment at Passages where both his blood test and his therapy sessions reveal secrets he’d rather not face. Is Sean’s real addiction simply to stardom, and if so how can he get on the road to sobriety? Viewers can find out this week on LIVING.

WEDNESDAY 25TH MARCH , 9PM

Former X Factor contestant Rowetta Satchell has admitted that most of the time she was on our screens she was out of her mind drunk.

Rowetta starred in the first series of the ITV show back in 2004 and admitted that the stress of placing herself in such a pressurised environment ended up with her drinking at least a bottle of whiskey a day.

Rowetta, 42, told The Sun: “I didn’t know what X Factor was going to be. It was the first series and the first show where there was no age limit so I went for it. I was so nervous waiting for my audition, I drank for four hours, so I was a mess. I don’t remember anything — all I know is that I really made a fool of myself.”

“After that, people expected me to be this larger-than-life character — but I’m not when I’m sober.

“Louis Walsh went to the papers to say that I constantly had a bottle of whisky in my handbag. I did, because they only served beer and wine at the studios and I don’t like those drinks.

“I’d drink a lot more than everyone else on a Saturday night.
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Simon Cowell said to me on stage once, ‘You’re starting to live a rock and roll lifestyle’. I said, ‘I can handle it’. I thought I could.”

But after she left the show things started to unravel for Rowetta, in fact the night she left she went out partying with Kelly Osbourne and turned up for her press conference the next day in the same clothes with her face covered in blood.

Rowetta has admirably been sober since October 2008 since joining new Living reality TV show, Rehab.

She told the newspaper: “I knew I needed to stop when I started getting blackouts. The last year and a half has been really bad for ending up in bed with young boys.”

“Friends say I now look better, and I definitely like myself better. I can see my future sober, which I’ve never done before. I’m looking forward to going on stage sober, with my head held high.”

REHAB continues on Living TV tonight at 9pm.

Watch Rowetta Satchell’s emotional journey as she faces up to her past and attempts to regain control of her life.

Wednesday 25th Feb 9pm on LIVING.

Last night Bay City Roller star, Les McKeown was the focus of Living’s new reality TV series, Rehab.

Les has spent decades addicted to alcohol and during treatment for his problem he admitted that many of his emotional problems stem from a date rape incident which occurred when he was only 17 year old.

“Date rape is the best way I can think of to explain how I was cajoled into a situation through drugs into having sex with another man,” he explained.

“It happened in America in a hotel room. I was given Quaaludes, a drug for lowering your inhibitions and making you horny.

“Afterwards I felt really used and abused. I never told anybody about it, not even the other guys in the band, because I was ashamed.”

He added:

“Maybe part of the shame was that I actually enjoyed it. Before that, I always thought I was straight, but what was happening to me was very erotic and I felt pleasure from it,” he said.

“Now I think a lot of the shame I’ve felt ever since has to do with the person who did that to me. I hated him. I tried to drink it away and push that memory into obscurity.”

The show was actually quite watchable last night and next week focus will shift to former X Factor contestant Rowetta, who also has an alcohol addiction problem.

Entertainment TV channel LIVING has commissioned Initial, an Endemol company, to produce a bold new series titled, ‘Rehab’.

The exclusive new series puts ‘rehab’ under the microscope by charting the journeys of seven fallen stars as they prepare to combat their various destructive addictions, at the established rehabilitation clinic Passages in Malibu, California.

The celebrities confronting their dangerous and potentially life-threatening habits are glamour models Alicia Douvall (body dysmorphia) and Cassie Sumner (bulimia), former Bay City Roller singer Les McKeown (alcoholism), X Factor favourite Rowetta Satchell (alcoholism), actress/comedienne and daughter of Britt Eckland and Peter Sellers – Victoria Sellers (drug addiction), musician and son of Dad’s Army’s John Le Mesurier and Carry On…’s Hattie Jacques – Robin Le Mesurier (alcoholism), and US Bold and the Beautiful soap star Sean Kanan (painkiller addiction). With their lives spiralling out of control, and their once successful careers overshadowed by their addictions, each has resolved to embark upon 2009 with a renewed outlook.

Despite it virtually becoming part of our everyday language, few know the actual reality behind ‘rehab’ and the nature of the treatment that patients endure remains a mystery – until now.

Each episode will follow a celebrity as they search for the determining factors that drove them towards their dependencies. In a world far away from showbiz parties, the stars will finally be able to face their demons to understand the pressures that have brought them to breaking point.

The final episode will catch up with each celebrity as they attempt to rebuild their lives outside of Passages rehabilitation clinic.

We have read and heard about ‘rehab’ constantly as more and more stars succumb to temptations. It’s a destination that has become synonymous with celebrity culture as every week it seems another celebrity checks in or out. Is fame to blame for celebrity’s increasing dependencies or are the sort of people dying for limelight inherently susceptible to addiction? Perhaps fame itself is the ultimate addiction? Whatever the underlying causes behind their heavily publicised troubles, there are too many famous names wasting their talents, opportunities and lives as they struggle with dependency.

Claudia Rosencrantz, Director of Television, Virgin Media Television said: “This series is a deeply compelling look into the truth behind rehab, watching our fallen stars confront and try to overcome their addictions and in the full glare of the public eye. We were really impressed with Chris Prentiss and his team at Passages – their incredible track record in successful rehabilitation and unusual approach gave us absolute confidence that we were offering our fallen stars the best chance of recovery. Alcoholism, drug abuse, bulimia, plastic surgery and the very 21st century, post-modern addiction to fame: this series will show what happens when addictions spiral out of control. Rehab is a seriously moving series, with some extraordinary stories, incredible bravery and inspiring breakthroughs. Lives have been changed already and I hope that the series will inspire anyone watching to face their own demons.”

Nick Samwell-Smith, Creative Director, Initial said: “This series is one of the most ambitious projects that Initial has ever tackled. Our aim was to get right under the skin of the processes involved in Rehab, and these patients’ painful battles with addiction in all its forms. The results are very powerful.”

Now, as seven famous faces combat the addictions that have plagued both their personal and professional lives, LIVING’s cameras will provide an exclusive insight into a hidden world that remains subject to intense media scrutiny. Group therapy, one on one sessions, living together and supporting each other – or not: LIVING will shed light on the cry for help that many perceive to be a career salvaging publicity stunt….Having followed many a celebrity’s demise, now comes the opportunity for viewers to view their redemption, and hopefully their eventual recovery.

Seeking both sanctuary and solutions within the four walls of Passages clinic in Malibu, the seven individuals undergo a complex and intensive programme of treatment and therapy, designed by Director Chris Prentiss. With Chris gearing the treatment around a radical stance that there is in fact a cure for addiction – contradicting the 12 Step Programme adopted by AA – can his patients banish the cravings that their compulsions carry?

Witness the ramifications of the rehabilitation process, as cameras pick up with our fallen stars upon their return to normality, speaking to them about their uncertainties and fears for the future, and examining how successful the rehab stint has proved to be. Is the road towards recovery in sight or does life outside the safety net that Passages provides merely serve up the same temptations? What will they discover about themselves and their lives?