'Why my champagne lifestyle just made me hate myself'

For almost Alison Calder's entire career she was surrounded by wine. At work meetings, formal events and social occasions, the drinks were often flowing.

To her friends, colleagues and acquaintances, Alison was a 'party animal' who simply 'liked a drink'. But in private, booze was fuelling a spiral of self-hate.

"I should have realised that the alcohol industry probably wasn't for me," Alison, 41, told the Manchester Evening News. "But I just really felt like, if I just kept trying to moderate more successfully, I'd be able to carry on my career and have the business that I wanted."

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Mum-of-two Alison, from Cheadle, was working part-time as a waitress while at university when she was offered the chance to train as a sommelier. She worked at a Michelin star restaurant for a couple of years, before working for a wine company in the UK.

"It was very boozy," said Alison. "I suppose what wouldn't normally be acceptable, was acceptable.

"We'd have team meetings, if we were staying over they'd give us champagne at breakfast and throughout team meetings, suppliers would bring alcohol in. That's great for people who have a happy, healthy relationship with alcohol, but for people who struggle to moderate - which was me - it probably started a slippery slope that I didn't want to be on."

After giving birth to her first child eight years ago, Alison decided to set up her own company, running events in south Manchester. She met new people through her work and many became friends, while alcohol still played a key part in her career.

It was also began playing a major role in her personal life too. The 'champagne breakfasts' in her old job had been replaced by a