Marco Pierre White's troubled son says he has converted to Islam to stay off heroin.
The Celebrity Big Brother star, who has been struggling with heroin addiction since he was 18, turned to Allah in jail, according to reports.
Last year, Marco Pierre White Junior, 28, pleaded guilty to 14 offences of shoplifting, possessing a knife, possessing heroin and a racially aggravated public order offence.
He was sentenced to 11 months, with 32 weeks of a previously suspended jail term to run consecutively.
But now the former reality star has been released from HMP Bristol, he’s claimed to have vowed to never touch drugs again.
After his famous chef dad reportedly spent more than £1million on his drug rehabilitation, Marco Jr has said he’s now supporting his effort to “stay clean” following years of drug abuse which started when he was just 13.
The celebrity chef’s son has told how he plans to follow in his father's footsteps and become a chef as he focuses on reform.
Marco Jr told the MailOnline how he is determined to turn his lift around and kick his addictions to the curb.
The tattooed ex-con told the publication: “More than £1million has wasted because of my addictions. But Islam has helped me get through everything. I have been in rehab 17 times and being in prison has made me realise that enough is enough.”
Marco Jr, who is father to a three-year-old daughter, revealed he was stabbed in the neck and lost six teeth while doing time due to fighting and told how he’d never been in so many fights in his life as he had been in the last 11 months.
He spent his sentence in HMP Bristol and Channings Wood in Ogwell, Devon and told how he was lost three teeth in one brawl and was beaten up by a group of inmates who found out he was in for a race hate crime, before being moved to a single cell for his safety.
Despite the difficulties faced while serving his time as the son of a famous chef, Marco Jr said his prison sentence is the “only thing” that’s cured him of his addiction.
Having spent time in rehabs all over the world, he claimed being banged up in a cell for 23 hours a day has healed him.
“I have realised how lucky I am and have been. I have seen all walks of life in prison and some people don't have a chance in life. I have had every opportunity and I have thrown them all away," he said.
“I could have done anything I wanted to, but instead I did heroin and ended up in prison. I have been an idiot.”
The publication reports that the recovering addict was sipping a beer – forbidden in Islam – during his interview but told how he now prays to Allah five times a day.
He explained he was intrigued by other inmates going to pray and talking about the Islamic community and the Qur'an.
He told the publication he had a flick through the Qur'an and his interest grew. He prayed and asked Allah to forgive his sins, make him strong and protect him.
He also prayed for the safety of his family - all of which, he says, has come true.
“This is crazy how everything works out for me. I do believe it has a lot to do with my prayers and my religion,” he explained.
Despite the hardships of jail, the doting dad said missing a year of his daughter Arabella’s life has made him determined to never use drugs again.
He explained how he spoke to the toddler every day on the phone and told her he was at work when she begged him to come home.
Marco Jr said he didn’t let her visit him in prison as he didn’t want her to see her dad in there.
He was reunited with his little girl, who he describes as the love of his life, last week and has vowed to not let her suffer anymore.
The former telly star told how he didn’t let his dad visit him in prison either after he “put him through a lot” and denied his requests to see him and even pick him up when he was released.
The father-of-one admitted that without his dad’s intervention, he would have died or spent the rest of his days as an addict and in jail.
He explained to the outlet that his time inside made him realised how much stress he’s put his dad through and praised him for continuing to be his biggest supporter despite it all.
Marco Jr is determined to make him proud after losing himself and forgetting who he was on heroin.
He said he’s hoping to join his dad in the family business like his brother Luciano Pierre White, who owns several restaurants, and his sister Mirabelle, who manages a Michelin star restaurant in Oxford.
