I was so angry at my mother for trying to kill herself, says Charlotte Church

The singer and TV presenter found her mother Maria slumped on the bed at her Cardiff home two years ago, having overdosed on sleeping pills.

At the time, Maria, 41, was depressed after rumours that her husband James - Miss Church's stepfather - had been unfaithful.

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Charlotte Church with her mother Maria: The singer was angry with her mum for taking an overdose

Miss Church, 21, writes in her forthcoming autobiography, Keep Smiling: "Everything came to a head one Thursday in the early afternoon. I hadn't heard from Mum and, untypically, her phone was switched off.

"I felt uneasy all day and by lunchtime I was sure something was wrong, so I called my grandfather and asked him to come round to her house with me.

"He let us in with his key and we found her upstairs in bed, out for the count in her pyjamas with the curtains closed.

"To begin with I thought she must be sleeping off a heavy night. I shook her but she took ages to come to, so I slapped her face. Although she was just about conscious, she was talking gibberish.

"She struggled to get out of bed and I helped her to the bathroom where she was sick."

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Charlotte with fiance Gavin Henson: She dismissed recent allegations he cheated on her with a shop assistant

Miss Church soon realised that her mother and onetime manager had taken an overdose.

"'What have you taken?' I yelled. She gave me a couple of empty bottles of sleeping pills and a pack of paracetamol.

"I was overwhelmed with anger and gave it to her straight. 'Did you want to kill yourself - was that it? Did you want to leave me and your family?

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Charlotte today in her home city of Cardiff, Wales. The singer is expecting her first baby next month

"How could you? We love you.'" Miss Church, who is expecting her first baby with rugby player Gavin Henson next month, then phoned NHS Direct and was told she should take her mother straight to hospital.

"That put the fear of God in me," the former child prodigy reveals.

Miss Church concludes in the book, out next month: "Luckily she hadn't done herself too much damage. She was put on a drip to prevent liver damage and kept under surveillance for a couple of days.

"Within a couple of months, Mum and Dad (James) were back together again. They couldn't bear to be apart."

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She left the car to readjust herself but found getting back in slightly problematic