Charlotte Church waived a £100,000 fee to sing at Rupert Murdoch's wedding in return for favourable press from his chain of tabloids, she has revealed today.
The 'Voice of an Angel' revealed at the ongoing Levensen Inquiry into phone hacking that she was moved to strike up the bargain by her colleagues.
The Daily Mail quotes her as saying: "I remember being told that Rupert Murdoch had asked me to sing at his wedding to Wendi Deng and it would take place on his yacht in New York.
"I remember being told that the offer of money or the offer of the favour, in order to basically get good press, to be looked upon favourably."
She contined: "And I also remember being 13 and thinking, "Why on earth would anybody take a favour over £100,000?"
But despite being persuaded to accept the favour, she has still been the centre of red-top scandal.
She said: "Mr Murdoch's newspapers have since been some of the worst offenders, so much that I have sometimes felt that there has actually been a deliberate agenda. While newspapers such as Mr Murdoch's have not helped my career, they certainly damaged it.
"I do of course accept television and radio have been very significant contributors to my success. I have little complaint at the contact of those media organisations or the people they employ."
Charlotte's media profile has calmed down in recent years. She recently proposed to her boyfriend.
The inquiry continues.
Hugh Grant's been leading the charge against Murdoch
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