Church Westminster California

Danniella Westbrook: "God will ensure I never return to drugs."

The former cocaine addict, whose nose was ravaged by snorting, says she is dedicating her life to the church after being saved by Jesus Christ – finding a new life she could not find in rehab or therapy.

Danniella, who is living in the US, has been “born again” after confessing her sins at her church there.

She now wants to return to the UK to share her new ­beliefs in a country she fears has abandoned ­religion.

“Gucci and Prada used to be my God. Now I have given my life to the Lord,” she said. “If you had told me two years ago that I was going to be Christian, I would have laughed. I used to tell people, ‘I’m way past saving.’

“But the first time I came to this church, I felt ­something so spiritual and amazing, I wanted to cry.

“After a few visits I found myself walking up to the altar to ask the Lord for forgiveness for my sins.

“It was an incredible ­experience. I have realised that there have been things I have struggled with, like guilt, that I would have never found a solution for. Because there are things that a therapist cannot give me – that I can only get from Jesus Christ.”

The former Dancing On Ice star quit Britain after her character Sam Mitchell walked out of Albert Square nine months ago. She and husband Kevin were hit hard by the credit crunch and moved to ­California for a change of lifestyle, selling their £1.75million Kent mansion.

Months after arriving in the US the couple were introduced to former drug addict turned pastor Jay Haizlip by mutual friends.

Danniella says that her conversion at the evangelical Sanctuary Church in Westminster, California, came after crises that almost destroyed her ­marriage and sank her husband’s ­property ventures.

She told the Sunday Mirror: “I feel that me working on EastEnders and becoming a Christian might be God’s way of leading people to the Lord.”

Ten years ago, her idea of a good night was being bent over a toilet in a West End nightclub, snorting line after line of cocaine.

Her weight plummeted to six stone and she made repeated suicide attempts. The blonde, a contestant in Dancing On Ice last year, estimates that she spent £250,000 on the drug which she first tried as a 14-year-old in a London club. The habit eventually left a gaping hole in her nose.

EastEnders' Danniella Westbrook: Gucci and Prada used to be my God ...

Danniella Westbrook has moved to America and found God.

The former EastEnders actress, who once had a heavy cocaine habit, was 'born again' after she confessed her sins at the evangelical Sanctuary Church in Westminster, California. 

' Gucci and Prada used to be my God. Now I have given my life to the Lord,' says Danniella , 37.

'If you had told me 2 years ago that I was going to be Christian, I would have laughed. I used to tell people, "I'm way past saving".

'But the first time I came to this church, I felt ­something so spiritual and amazing, I wanted to cry.'

Danniella now lives in California with husband of 10 years Kevin and their children Kai , 14, and Jody , 9.

Kevin , who was depressed after losing his property business, has also been 'helped by God' and the family are regulars at the church. They spend much of their free time reading the Bible.

'People tell us, "Oh no, you're in the God squad now",' Danniella tells The Sunday Mirror. 'But they don't get it.

'I have no interest in being famous any more unless it can help me to spread God's word.

'I really think I have been put in this position to help people.

'God speaks to me in so many ways. I talk to him and it is definitely a 2-way conversation.

Membership list and excerpts from the records of the Congregational Church of Westminster, California, journal #8474 in the Bowers Museum, Santa Ana California

Minutes of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America

Reports of cases determined in the Supreme Court of the state of California

California pioneer decade of 1849, the Presbyterian church with some mention of other churches, and incidental reference to current events and civil affairs of early and later date

West's California reporter