Pete Doherty has spoken out about the reasons why he chose to leave Kent – as he celebrates his longest stretch of “semi-sobriety” since he first achieved fame.

Speaking to Louis Theroux from his home in the seaside French region Normandy, the Libertines star revealed the harrowing reason why he ditched Margate little more than three years ago, and that his now wife, Katia de Vidas, was the reason he stopped taking drugs.

Speaking during an episode of Louis Theroux Interviews, which aired last Tuesday, Doherty said: “I’d never hide it. Katia was never, ever interested in drugs herself.

“Around Katia, I probably used to be, not under manners, but there wasn’t that frantic need to score like when you hang around with other addicts.

“I wouldn’t have stopped, I don’t think, if Katia [Pete’s now-wife] hadn’t given me the ultimatum.

“Especially because she wanted a child, she’s like you can’t just have a child while you’re like this.”

Musician and filmmaker Katia also contributed to the discussion, calling active addiction “a roller coaster”.

“But as bad as it sounds, he was manageable for a while,” she said.

“We were back in England and that was too much for me.

“In Margate, you were like a magnet to jerks, they came to get money, drugs.”

Pete added: “They were like proper old-school Margate boys and had been using for many years and trying to do creative things but not really getting anywhere then all of a sudden there were just those six months where everyone died.”

Since he moved to France, Pete and Katia have married and had a child, two-month-old Billie May, whilst Pete has abstained from drug use.

Described by Theroux as the “one-time hell raiser with an extensive list of hits and criminal convictions” and as “the poster boy for rock and roll excess”, the 45-minute chat filmed for the BBC took a look at Pete’s history.

Pete shot to fame alongside Carl Barat in the early 2000s as their band, The Libertines, became a household name across the UK.

However, his addiction to heroin and crack cocaine slowly began to consume him.

Although Pete has since left the county, his former bandmate Carl is still an active presence in Margate – having recently opened his own nightclub in Margate.

Justine’s in Marine Gardens opened its doors for the first time earlier this year, running the joint alongside partner Edie Langley.