US talk show host Rush Limbaugh has admitted a problem with prescription drugs after being caught out by a leaked story to a newspaper.

Limbaugh’s dependence on painkillers apparently began after an unsuccessful back surgery in the late ’90’s according to a story in Newsweek. On his program, Limbaugh told his listeners that he had twice gone to a hospital to detox.

“What did he tell his wife when he checked into the treatment center? There’s an awful lot of mystery about it,” said a friend quoted in the Newsweek article.

According to his housekeeper, Wilma Cline, who first brought the story to light, Limbaugh took as many as 30 OxyContin pills a day. It is not clear why Cline went to the authorities.