Oprah Winfrey: Lance Armstrong admitted to doping

Lance Armstrong has admitted in an interview with Oprah Winfrey to using performance-enhancing drugs, the talk show host revealed today.

Winfrey told American TV network CBS that she was "mesmerised" by Armstrong's reasons for doping and that she did not expect him to come clean in the manner he did.

The talk show host, who has interviewed some of the world's most famous people, said her interview with the former seven-time Tour de France champion was the "biggest" she had ever done.

Winfrey said that she was unsure why Armstrong had decided to come clean now but that he was "ready" and "well prepared" for the moment.

The interview will be shown over two nights because it was "impossible to cut down", according to Winfrey.

She revealed she "hand carried" the interview tapes back in her bag, with dog food, as she did not trust it would be securely transmitted by satellite.

You can watch the interview in the UK on the Discovery Channel at 2am and 8pm on Friday 18th January