Peter Andre says religious mum was petrified his life would just be sex and drugs

Peter Andre said his Jehovah’s Witness mum was ‘petrified’ when he started taking his shirt off during the early days of his career.

The singer enjoyed some success in his native Australia in the early 1990s, but when he moved to the UK, he shot to superstardom following the release of his single Mysterious Girl, which earned him a reputation as a heartthrob.

He became well known for stripping off on stage - and his music videos - ditching his baggy clothes and showing off his impressive chiselled abs.

But he admitted his mum was terrified of him taking his clothes off, and were concerned his life would be “all sex, drugs and rock’n’roll”.

In an interview with The Guardian, Peter recreated a shot of him on stage in the late 1990s, and recalled wanting to make his mark on the music scene by showing some flesh.

Peter - and his abs - shot to fame in the mid-90s (PA)

He wanted to make taking his shirt off his 'trademark' (Warner Bros. Records)

The 48-year-old said he was inspired by Marky Mark - aka Mark Wahlberg - and Jean-Claude Van Damme who were taking their tops off “and I wanted to do the same thing for pop”.

“It was already happening in places like the UK with Take That, but my label wasn’t into it – they thought Aussies wouldn’t get it. My parents weren’t too keen either,” he explained.

“When I was offered a deal aged 16, my mum was absolutely petrified – she said: ‘No, no, no, please no!’ And I see why: they’re Jehovah’s Witnesses and were concerned my life would be all sex, drugs and rock’n’roll,” Peter shared.

He insisted he “never took drugs” but liked to party, and had lots of girlfriends after making “taking my shirt off my trademark”.

Decades on from his first glimpse of fame in the late 90s, Peter said he’s still got body confidence - despite not having a six pack - but won’t ever be seen with his shirt off in public.

The dad-of-four said he “built a rod for my own back” by being so motivated to stay in shape when he was younger, and worries that people will compare his body now to when he was in his 20s.

He devastated his legions of adoring fans by stating he will never be seen “walking around a beach with my top off, or on stage - maybe for a laugh, but it’s unlikely”.

He also looked back on how he dealt with fame early on in his career, and admitted he was “arrogant” and received a lot of abuse from strangers.

But, he’s relieved to put those days behind him by becoming a “family man”, and hopes others can see he’s “not actually a little s**t”.