Boyzone star Keith Duffy has been having panic attacks since the death of his bandmate Stephen Gately.

The singer has been experiencing the episodes – where the sufferer endures a period of intense fear or discomfort – ever since Stephen passed away last October, but Keith insists he is learning to deal with the attacks.

He said: 'I have waves of emotion that can hit me at any time. In the first few weeks they were terrifying. I couldn't breathe, I'd go light-headed and it was incredibly frightening. They still come, but I can handle them better now.'

Keith admits his grief was overwhelming at first but he found comfort in his Catholic faith.

He explained: 'I was distraught. I felt anger, disbelief, I cried a lot and had terrible nightmares. But I believe Stephen's in a better place now, he's looking over us and he's happy.'

One thing that helped the 35-year-old singer-and-actor deal with the loss of Stephen is the support of his other Boyzone bandmates - Ronan Keating, 32, Shane Lynch, 33, and Mikey Graham, 37.

He told Closer magazine: 'Stephen brought out our nurturing sides – we'd think nothing of hugging and kissing each other. And he got us into pampering! We were into our flash cars, but Stephen would just spend thousands on beauty products! He got us into expensive face creams – we were the gayest straight band in the world and we loved him for it.'

Stephen died after suffering a pulmonary oedema – a heart condition which causes an accumulation of fluid on the lungs - aged just 33. He was survived by his husband Andrew Cowles, 32.