Nov 9, 2009, 9:33 GMT
Peter Andre needed to book into a mental institution after a stranger threatened to kill him.
Australian singer Peter Andre "Another one took this blade out and ran it across my face. The first guy kept telling me I was the reason his brother was in hospital. I kept saying I had no idea what they were talking about but they told me to shut up. EPA/DANIEL DEME
The 'Behind Closed Doors' singer sought psychiatric help when he was targeted by a group of men, armed with knifes, in his native Australia over 10 years ago.
He said: "One night I went out quite late to get something from a shop. As I was walking down the street I noticed a group of Middle Eastern guys. One broke away and grabbed me. He pushed me against a wall, stuck a knife to my throat and shouted, 'Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you.'
"I started hyperventilating, which seemed to excite the other guys. They started laughing.
"Another one took this blade out and ran it across my face. The first guy kept telling me I was the reason his brother was in hospital. I kept saying I had no idea what they were talking about but they told me to shut up.
"I was completely terrified. I could feel them getting off on my fear but I couldn't stop it. I closed my eyes and then I heard this woman I know running at me with her security. The gang legged it."
Pete said he was continually targeted by death threats when he lived in Australia and was desperate for professional help.
He added to Britain's Live magazine: "Australia was a very bad place for me at the time. I'd gone from being this golden boy to a hate figure. I was getting death threats, people were texting me with my parents' address saying, 'Say goodbye to them.' It was horrendous.
"What happened after that was one panic attack after another. Crippling, terrifying. It got so extreme I was having up to 20 panic attacks a day. I couldn't cope. I couldn't work. I didn't know what to do.
"I ended up checking myself into a psychiatric ward in New York. I spent two weeks there going to group therapy, talking to people. I was then discharged and put on seriously strong medication, which actually made me worse. It was a really bad time."
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