Pubdate: Mon, 5 Jun 2000 Source: Daily Record and Sunday Mail (UK) Copyright: 2000 Daily Record and Sunday Mail Ltd. Contact: Anderston Quay, Glasgow, Scotland, G3 8DA Website: http://www.record-mail.co.uk/rm/ A FAVOURITE OF THE STARS COCAINE use is rife in showbusiness. It gives users a false sense of confidence and the ability to stay awake longer. But it doesn't come cheap, with a gram - or a wrap - costing around pounds 50. It is usually snorted through rolled-up bank notes and gives users an immediate buzz. Stars who have admitted to taking it include Oasis brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher. It girl Tara Palmer Tomkinson checked into a clinic in Arizona last May after admitting to a pounds 250-a-day habit. Blue Peter host Richard Bacon was fired from the children's programme when he was revealed to have taken the drug. Radio 2 DJ Johnnie Walker, 56, was suspended after a newspaper revealed he used the drug. He checked into guitar legend Eric Clapton's clinic on the Caribbean island of Antigua in a bid to get his life back together. Last year, Camilla Parker Bowles' son Tom admitted taking the drug at a party. Danniella isn't the only young EastEnder star who used cocaine. Sid Owen, who played Ricky Butcher, nearly lost his job after dabbling with the drug. Patsy Palmer, who played his on-screen wife Bianca, fell foul of it in the early part of her TV career. Figures show one in 10 youngsters between the ages of 20 and 24 have tried cocaine. And it causes the death of up to 20 people a year in the UK. - --- MAP posted-by: greg