Girls 'can't cope with pressure to have tan'
The star, famous for her alabaster-toned skin, said she used to feel unattractive if she was not tanned.
She explained: "Tanning is a subject that is really close to my heart. I was once in a place where I did feel a pressure to have a tan.
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Hide Ad"Having a tan made me feel more attractive, it made me feel more accepted as a young girl being very influenced by peers, by media, by everybody in society.
"Without having a tan I didn't feel attractive, I just didn't feel very good at all."
Roberts spoke of her ordeal while appearing alongside Health Secretary Andy Burnham, who gave the government's backing to a call for a ban on under 18s using sunbeds in salons.
The private member's bill is being introduced by Cardiff North MP Julie Morgan.
Roberts said a recent trip to Liverpool had left her shocked after she realised just how many young girls were using sunbeds.
She said: "With no disrespect to the government and to MPs, unless you go to these streets in working-class areas and understand how these young girls feel, then you won't understand."