McFly's Dougie Poynter turned to Valium after band split

McFly’s Dougie Poynter has revealed he turned to Valium to help him cope after the band split up.

The Shine A Light singers went their separate ways in 2016.

Poynter was the one who suggested the hiatus but, according to The Sun, ended up finding it difficult.

The star – who previously revealed he attempted suicide in 2011 – opens up in upcoming TV show McFly: All About Us, which documents the band’s success and key moments.

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He says: “On the one hand I felt inspired because friends in LA would take me to see other bands and stuff.

“On the other hand, I was like, ‘But my band’s broken and it’s all my fault.’

“Valium was a way of just making all that disappear.”

Poynter’s bandmates noticed what was going on, with guitar player Danny Jones saying he “went from being quite sketchy to being super chill, like almost dribbling”.

Drummer Harry Judd approached Poynter about it, explaining: “He sort of told me what he’d been taking. He was like, at that lethal dosage.”

Poynter sought help in rehab and the band later got together for group counselling to help them get things back on track.

McFly, which includes singer Tom Fletcher, shot to fame in 2004 with their album Room On The 3rd Floor and enjoyed a string of hit singles such as Obviously, I’ll Be OK and You’ve Got A Friend.

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In September 2016, they went on tour in the UK, after which they announced they were scrapping some new material as they “wouldn't be 100% behind it any more” and went on an indefinite hiatus.

They got back together in 2019 and recently signed their first record deal since 2009.

When they reformed last year they revealed that “a bit of jealousy” about each other and “unspoken tension” during their time off had got in the way of them working together as McFly again.

Watch: McFly's Danny Jones gets emotional as he hears stories from long-time fans