Curly took dope and put drugs in coffee; Street star in cannabis shame at booze clinic

By Matthew Acton and Adrian Addison

TROUBLED Coronation Street star Kevin Kennedy used illegal DRUGS as he battled to beat the booze in a strict drying-out clinic.

Kevin, TV supermarket boss Curly Watts, eagerly sucked lumps of cannabis resin to ease the agony of his gruelling detox regime.

And fellow patients watched as he downed a cup of coffee made from the ultra-strong herbal variety of the drug, known as skunk.

Mark Evans, who was being treated at the clinic when 37-year-old Kevin was admitted, told how the desperate actor jumped for joy when he found Class B drugs were available from residents.

He recalled: "Kevin was saying, 'Oh, there is a God!' He was jumping up and down and hugging one of the other residents.

"He said he had a bag of skunk at home and a block of cannabis, but didn't know whether to bring it or not."

Mark, 33, described how he, football-mad Kevin and another patient spent several nights chewing cannabis together at the Smithfield Centre in Manchester to combat the stress of kicking alcohol.

He said: "Kevin and I were in the TV room talking about cannabis. You couldn't smoke it in there as the staff would get on to you because of the smell.

"We were talking about Manchester City too and I just said to him, 'Do you have a weed, Kev?' He said, 'Yeah, I normally have a smoke.'

"I asked him if he wanted a bit and he said, 'You can't have it in here, can you?'

"I just told him to eat it and he said, 'Oh, all right then, right.' He was buzzing after that."

Mark went on: "We were also giving him resin. A few of us were doing that. One night in the TV room I told him I had some skunk but it was too smelly to smoke. He said, 'Do a skunk coffee.' So we just mixed it up into the coffee and he drank the lot.

"I think he was quite high because about an hour later he said he was going to bed. I gave him quite a bit but never got any back off him."

The Pounds 100,000-a-year actor was admitted to the clinic for chronic alcoholics for a week in July after doctors warned he was drinking himself into an early grave.

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E was taken to the centre by his worried wife Claire, 28, after collapsing in the street.

But within hours of arriving the deluded star was eagerly consuming another dangerous drug.

Another Smithfield resident said: "The night after he'd booked in I spoke to him and said, 'Do you smoke draw (marijuana) , Kev?'

"He said, 'Oh yeah, yeah. But I haven't got any with me. I thought I'd have to leave it at home. I never thought you'd be able to get away with it in here.'

"I told him he'd be okay and gave him a bit of mine. He was over the moon when he found out. He picked me up and swung me round.

"Every night we were getting high on sucking draw. On his third night he sent me out for chocolate. We were all stoned. Kevin got his draw off me and a friend of mine. I went home and brought some in.

"On the fourth day I left the clinic and I gave him my last bit of draw and he wished me good luck.

"He didn't act the big star or anything, he's an ordinary bloke."

Mark recalled the shock moment when the actor first wandered into the unit.

And he said the TV favourite revealed how he used to drink half a bottle of vodka BEFORE starting work on the Coronation Street set.

Mark said: "On the day Kevin arrived, the staff got the patients together and said a celebrity was being brought in. They didn't say who it was, but said we should treat him the same as anybody else and not make a fuss of him."

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EVIN arrived with his wife about half an hour later, at about 3pm.

"He was in quite a mess when he came in. They more or less had to help him into the building.

"He was definitely under the influence of something. He was dishevelled and wearing a pair of Man City tracksuit bottoms.

"He was the worse for wear but friendly and speaking to us. I shook hands with him. In fact he wore the same gear all week. He never changed his clothes."

Following a 90-minute assessment to check how much alcohol was still in his bloodstream, the actor appeared in the day room clutching his guitar and bashed out a few Irish folk tunes.

Said Mark: "Then the staff told him to put it away because there were sick people around. He sat watching television and drinking coffee and orange juice.

"Then Coronation Street came on and he asked if he could turn it off because he'd had enough of it."

Mark added: "Kevin didn't have a great deal to say on his first day. You start feeling rough after a bit. He had a bit of the shakes and had an early night.

"I saw him in the medical queue in the morning when everyone gets their medicine and anti-shakes tablets.

"I saw him being physically sick at the front desk where we all sit for medication. He was helped back to his room by staff.

"On the third day he started to socialise a bit more. He was telling us one or two things about how they planned to get round his absence in Coronation Street.

"He said what had put him over the edge was an all-inclusive holiday in Barbados. He was on the rums, drinking it by the bottle.

"He was a nice lad. He was telling us he needed half a bottle of vodka to get out of bed in the morning. On the third night we were in the TV room and it was there I first gave him some weed.

"It was the same each night. We were eating cannabis and chatting. He said he just wanted to get better and respected us for being in there. We used to say we'd more respect for him for doing it.

"I gave him a big Manchester City badge when I left at the end of the week. He's a good bloke, I wish him a good recovery."

Patients at the Smithfield- dubbed the Last Chance Saloon as it treats only the most serious cases-are each given a private room, complete with a plastic mattress cover to protect it from sweat during their detox ordeal.

Each day is spent undergoing group work and therapy sessions. Acupuncture and relaxation are also available.

For the first three days residents are not allowed to go outside the building because they are on large doses of medication to wean them off alcohol.

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NOTHER resident told how actor Kevin offered him a joint during his stay.

He said: "On the second night he was there he came up to me and asked if anyone was going to the shop, because you're not allowed out for the first three days.

"I said I was going out and he asked me to do him a favour because he'd got no money on him. He said he fancied some chocolate and wanted some long Rizlas, so I went and got them.

"On the third night these two guys knocked on his door and asked if he wanted a game of pool and a smoke. He came out and said, 'Are you coming?'

"I got my tobacco out and Kevin said, 'No, have a drag of this. It's all right, it's only draw.

"I told him I didn't touch it. While he was in there he smoked normal cigarettes, packets of 20. He said later that any time I wanted a draw I should knock on his door. He was always in that pool room late at night. You could stay until two or three in the morning and Kevin did. He stayed there for hours."

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HE resident went on: "The next day he offered me a draw. He said it wouldn't do me harm. He said he smoked it all the time.

"He said, 'You can't get a drink. They breathalyse you, so have a draw instead. It's different, they don't check you for draw.'

"He said it calms you down and makes you high. But I never touched it. I'd rather have a pint."

After leaving the Smithfield, Kevin went on to spend a month in the private Pounds 1,500-a-week Priory Clinic in Altrincham.

He was discharged in September and vowed to be back in the Street soon.

A Street spokeswoman said last night: "Kevin emphatically denies that he took cannabis while in the Smithfield." She added that patients were carefully monitored, making it difficult to use drugs.

Now Kevin must undergo regular check-ups to monitor his progress. Thoughout his booze battle, Granada TV bosses have stood by him.

Mark recalled the time at the Smithfield when the star received a call from a TV executive.

He said: "He came back really happy and punching the air.

"He'd just been told his job was safe."

November 15, 1998 | News of the World (London, England). Author/Byline: Matthew Acton and Adrian Addison