Former STARSKY AND HUTCH star David Soul used to sell himself to men for money - in an effort to stay alive as a struggling actor.

The 60-year-old - who has battled addiction and been arrested for beating his wife - admits he was forced to engage in gay sex with strangers as a means to pay the rent.

And Soul says the memories of those incidents still haunt him, as he remembers how lonely the people involved were.

He says, "I had to do a lot of things to stay alive. I sold myself.

"I was a young and attractive kid who was invited places. There were people I didn't really know that came over for parties and stuff like that.

"Among them were men who were very lonely people. 'Would you like to come over and have coffee?' 'Yeah, I'd love to.' You know. And then we would talk about their problems and one thing led to another.

"I was broke. That's how it works. As time went on I stated to feel used because I'm certainly not gay. I never have been."

12/03/2004 13:58