Shaun Ryder: I take more pills now than ever due to health

Shaun Ryder has claimed he takes more pills now than in his heyday, due to a string of medical problems.

The Happy Mondays star – who has spoken openly about his past drug use – takes an abundance of medication everyday to treat an underactive thyroid.

Ryder, 59, told The Daily Star: "It's because I don't have a thyroid, mine was underactive which makes you fat and bald but once that goes then everything starts to grate down and you have to take lots of tablets.

Read more: Shaun Ryder: Cycling helped me kick heroin for good

"And I don't produce testosterone now so I'm on more pills now than I was in 1988."

The Celebrity Gogglebox star had a cancer scare in 2020 after a non-malignant lump was found on his testicles.

He believes he has been suffering from long COVID after contracting coronavirus in 2021.

Ryder also has ADHD - attention deficit hyperactivity disorder - a neurodevelopmental condition that affects behaviour.

He previously told White Wine Question Time: “Drugs made me feel normal.

“I was a fidgeter – I couldn’t keep still. I always felt uncomfortable and then as soon as I took certain drugs, I didn’t feel uncomfortable. I could sit still without moving about.”

The Step On singer started drinking at 13 and has been in and out of rehab over the years to treat his past addictions to heroin and crystal meth.

Ryder revealed in May 2021: "When I hit 40, I didn’t even bother with rehab: I went on my bike and just went cold turkey because I wanted to do it."

But the singer was forced to quit cycling in 2019 when he needed a hip replacement.

Ryder recently appeared on ITV show Dancing On Ice to support his bandmate Bez who was competing in the ITV skating show.

Ryder was seen driving across the ice rink on a mobility scooter on the show.

The Happy Mondays formed in Manchester in 1980. They last toured together in 2019.

Read more: Dancing On Ice: Bez bows out of skating competition

Ryder, who took part in I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! in 2010, is also a member of Black Grape and has had a successful solo career.

Watch: Shaun Ryder has had long COVID