MICHAEL JACKSON’s descent into deadly drug addiction was sparked by a TV documentary in which he spoke about allowing children to sleep in his bed, according to his ex-manager.

Dieter Wiesner was with the superstar on the night British journalist Martin Bashir’s controversial film Living With Michael Jackson was aired in the U.S. in 2003.

He is adamant the show spelt the beginning of the end for Jackson – insisting the singer "died" when the programme was broadcast.

Wiesner tells British tabloid The Sun, "It broke him. It killed him. He took a long time to die, but it started that night.

"Previously the drugs were a crutch, but after that they became a necessity. They got him through his days and insomnia-riddled nights. And the people who gave them knew what they were doing. They should never have been around him.

"He knew I didn’t approve of the painkillers. It wasn’t about easing the pain of plastic surgery – we’re talking drug addiction. He tempered it when I was there, but I knew when I wasn’t, the predators would give him what he wanted, fearing they’d lose their jobs if they didn’t."

Wiesner, who managed Jackson from 1996 to 2003, recalls the Thriller singer was once so doped up on prescription medication he could not even lift a fork to feed himself.

And he witnessed heartbreaking moments when the star was so distraught he broke down in tears.

Wiesner adds, "One day he sat down and just started to cry. He had $500 million in the bank and sold the biggest album of all time – I told him he had everything to live for. He said, ‘That’s easy for you to say’. There was an inner melancholy to him."