Talking to This Morning on Thursday, Chanelle admitted her mother was a prostitute who was killed by a client in 1988, just a few months after she was born.
The glamour model was adopted as a child, but had never known what happened to her biological parents - until a suicide attempt forced the truth from her family.
'When I found out the truth it was heartbreaking. I read the letters they had written saying that my mum was a good person - but she got in with the wrong crowd.'
After rebelling against her parents as a teenager - drinking, skiving off school and eventually trying to kill herself - Chanelle's family were forced to tell her the truth about her mother's past.
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Andrea Sinclair had become a drug user, then a dealer, become a prostitute and given birth to Chanelle whilst serving a sentence in prison.
After her release, Sinclair was picked up on the 5th April by a Keith Pollard, who had previously been imprisoned for the murder of a 70-year-old woman.
Described as someone with 'perverse sexual interests,' Pollard strangled Sinclair with a tie and cut a nipple off her body, claiming 'self defence' for the murder.
Despite being sentenced to 20 years in prison, Lord Lane commented at the time that he doubted whether Pollard should ever be released, as he posed such a danger to others.
Far from feeling sorry for herself, Chanelle admits she had a 'brilliant upbringing' with her adoptive family.
'It's all well and good saying I had a tragic time but I have two elder sisters and they didn't have the chance to grow up with their mum. While it is sad for me that I had to learn something so tragic, I had a brilliant upbringing' she said.