How my affair made Amy suffer, by her father Mitch Winehouse

They say pain is good for art, which might explain why Amy Winehouse's music draws on troubled times from her childhood.

And now her father has revealed what influence he had on the 24-year-old singer's work - by conducting a longstanding affair.

Mitch Winehouse, 57, began the relationship soon after his daughter was born.

It was an open secret in the family home.

Mitch Winehouse is supporting Amy come off drugs - but says leaving their family had an effect on the star

And years later, when Miss Winehouse wrote the bitter song What It Is About Men, the taxi driver realised that the line: "All the s**t my mother went through," referred to his behaviour.

Mr Winehouse married Amy's mother Janis Seaton, now 53, in 1976.

Their son Alex was born in 1980 and Miss Winehouse in 1983.

But 18 months later, Mr Winehouse became smitten with a colleague Jane, now 43, who was working with him in a double glazing firm.

The pair started an affair two years later, which continued until 1993.

He then left his family to move in with his mistress and married her in 1996.

Mr Winehouse, who lives with his second wife in Greenhithe, Kent, said: "The children used to call Jane 'Daddy's work wife'.

"I did not leave home until Amy was ten, so the situation occurred for another eight or nine years before I left home. It was difficult."

Mr Winehouse said he thought at the time that Amy had forgiven his deception and coped with her parents splitting up.

He told a BBC programme: "I should have left earlier, I should have left sooner. There was not really a negative response from Amy (when I left), but she definitely became a lot more independent.

Amy Winehouse hugs her mother Janis after accepting a Grammy Award in February

Perhaps deep down she felt her parents were splitting up, she could not rely on them to stay together and that it was about time she learned to look after herself.

"I thought Amy was over it pretty quickly - in fact it felt at the time Amy felt no effect at all.

"Maybe she could not articulate it in words, but she certainly did it with music."

Speaking of his daughter's drug and drink abuse, he explained that it culminated in a seizure in August.

Doctors warned if she continued her drug use, she ran the risk of dying from further seizures.

"She could die horribly," Mr Winehouse said. "That is not going to happen - that cannot happen."

Since his betrayal, he has been reconciled with his daughter.

And Mr Winehouse added: "I think she would have found her way here one way or another without any help from me.

"It is easy for me to say it is my fault, and that had I been a better parent this would not have happened. But who knows whether it would or not?"

One Life: Rock Star Parents is on BBC1 at 10.35pm on Tuesday.