Calum Best’s mum was "petrified" he’d drink himself to "death".
The ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ star’s mother Angie Best has revealed she feared for her son’s life when he turned to partying and womanizing after his father, football legend George Best, died of kidney failure in 2005 following his struggles with alcoholism.
She said: "I was petrified for him. I just thought history was repeating itself and he was going to end up an alcoholic, drinking himself to death like his father."
Angie – who admits she was "disgusted" to hear gossip blogger Perez Hilton threaten to sexually assault her son on the Channel 5 reality show – is disappointed George never stepped up to be a good dad to their son.
She continued: "He [Calum] was very lost. All his life he had dreamed of bonding with his father, for his father to call him up and say, ‘Come on holiday with me, come visit’, and it never happened.
"But there was always hope.
"When he died all hope was gone. He chose to deal with that the only way he knew how – drinking."
However, Calum has overcome his demons and Angie is thrilled her son was strong enough to learn from his father’s mistakes.
She added to The Sun newspaper: "Every day I feared the call would come, that he would hurt himself.
"It was a dreadful time and I’m so proud of him for having the strength of character to walk away from the situation a better man."
Meanwhile, Calum has reportedly been dating model Ianthe Rose Cochrane-Stack – who appeared on ‘Made In Chelsea’ in 2012 – "since last year", with insiders believing that’s why he hasn’t engaged in a showmance with fellow ‘CBB’ star Cami-Li.
A source shared: "Ianthe and Calum have been dating since last year, but have kept it quiet. He seems quite besotted and the feeling is mutual … It’s no surprise he brushed Cami off. Why go for a burger when you have steak at home?"