He plays a sex- obsessed womaniser in raunchy TV series Californication.

But in an unfortunate case of life imitating art, David Duchovny has checked himself into a rehab clinic for sex addiction.

In a statement, the actor said: 'I have voluntarily entered a facility for the treatment of sex addiction.

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Gone to rehab: X Files star David Duchovny, who has been playing an oversexed writer on his new show, has been admitted to rehab for sex addiction

'I ask for respect and privacy for my wife and children as we deal with this situation as a family.'

The 48-year-old former X-Files star has been married to Deep Impact actress Tea Leoni for 11 years, and the couple have a daughter, Madelaine West, nine, and a six-year-old son, Kyd.

Californication's controversial first series saw Duchovny, who won a Golden Globe award in January for his role as Hank Moody, seducing a teenage girl and taking part in group sex.

With his wife of 11 years, actress Tea Leoni

But in an interview last year, he rubbished the labelling of his character as a sex addict, saying: ' People always want to rush to say, "He's an addict".

'People have called this character a sex addict and to me that's weird. It's even been written that you can be a sex addict within a marriage.'

At the height of Duchovny's stardom in the mid 1990s, it was widely reported he had suffered from sex addiction after cheating on a string of girlfriends.

However, the actor fiercely denied the claims, saying the idea was 'hurtful'.

Although Duchovny has insisted he has never been unfaithful to Miss Leoni, he recently admitted he had often questioned whether fidelity was possible.

He said during one interview: 'Every man feels that, don't they? But dare he admit it?'

Duchovny is the latest in a long line of stars to be treated for sex addiction, including Michael Douglas and Billy Bob Thornton.

At the beginning of his career, Duchovny starred in the erotic TV series, Red Shoe Diaries, but it was his role as Special Agent Fox Mulder in The X-Files that made him a household name.

The show, which became one of the most popular series of the Nineties, ran for eight years before drawing to a close in 2001.

The film, The X-Files: I Want to Believe, was released in cinemas in July but was panned by critics and delivered poor box office figures.