Adrian Chiles says he was 'too good at drinking' to notice he was downing up to a 100 units a week

TV presenter Adrian Chiles has revealed he was "so good at drinking" that he did not notice he was consuming up to 100 units a week.

Speaking to ITV News, Chiles said he never considered himself to have a problem with alcohol as the amount he drank appeared to be socially normal.

In reality he was drinking "massive amounts", sometimes putting away twice as much the weekly recommended number of units in just one day.

Chiles was made to examine his drinking while filming documentary, 'Drinkers Like Me,' about his relationship with booze.

Confronted with the numbers - and a stark warning from a liver specialist - Chiles was forced to change his habits.

He told ITV News: "I'm 51 now, I've been drinking since I was 15 - unproblematically.

"I didn't drink during the day, didn't stay up half the night, didn't get drunk particularly, didn't get hangovers, didn't fight people or anything. I don't think any of my friends would say I had a drink problem.

"But then it turned out I was just drinking a massive amount. I was almost too good at it.

"I found out I was putting away 60, 70, 80, 90 even a 100 units a week. It was complete madness. And that has had some kind of detrimental effect on my health."

The moment Chiles realised he had to change was after what he described as a "normal" day of drinking.

"I went to the football, had a few pints first, then didn't drink all afternoon. Went to a friend's 40th birthday party, didn't drink a wild amount - a couple of bottles of beer, some wine another beer, then home. A normal day.

"Then they filmed me in the morning, tallying that up and it was 34 units. In one day. Madness - two and half times as much the weekly recommended limit."

Now he is encouraging other people to take a look at their relationship with alcohol. His message is not about abstaining completely but being mindful of what, why and when you are drinking alcohol.

"I'm not going to lecture anyone and I think there are some major benefits to alcohol," he said.

"What I would say is this, before you go anywhere just get on one of those apps - DrinkLess is my favourite one - just go on and, don't try and moderate even, and for three weeks, without judging yourself, without worrying, you're not going to drop dead, don't worry, just measure what you are drinking and see where you're at.

"Don't beat yourself up but have a look at yourself and be honest with yourself."

Chiles admits that the road to a less alcohol-soaked future is not an easy one.

"If you're used to drinking a lot moderating requires intelligential energy. It requires an enormous amount of planning, so I'm fighting with it, but I'm coming down, my numbers are coming down," he says.

Chiles admission comes after a worldwide study found going teetotal is the only way to avoid risking health with alcohol.

While previous research suggested that moderate levels of alcohol – around one drink a day for women and two for men – may protect against heart disease, the authors of this new study insist that any benefits from drinking alcohol are outweighed by the harms.

Speaking in response to the study, Chiles said that the danger with this latest research was that there are so many, seemingly contradictory, studies about the effects of alcohol, that people choose to ignore any warnings the research uncovers and carry on drinking regardless.

He said: "I don't want to be in the ridiculous position of defending alcohol given the documentary I've made, but there's a risk attached to everything. There's no safe level of driving. Every Time you get in a car you risk having an accident, possibly a life changing one, so it's about managing that risk."

He added: "You've got to be mindful about what you are drinking, why you are drinking, when you are drinking. And really enjoy it rather than just out of habit - staying out all night just drinking loads and loads and loads."