A user of cocaine, sharing in the activity in the company of Will Self among others, she was positive about her use in "The Guardian" in 2000 when defending actress Danniella Westbrook for Westbrook's loss of her septum because of cocaine use. Journalist Deborah Orr, who was then married to Self, was scathing in "The Independent" of Burchill and her article: "She does not identify herself as a cocaine addict, so she has no pity for Ms Westbrook." A letter in "The Independent" in June 2000 from the head waitress at the Groucho Club at the time, Deborah Bosley, caused a minor stir. Responding to an article by Yvonne Roberts, Bosley, at the time the partner of Richard Ingrams, a long standing critic of Burchill, stated that Burchill was merely "a fat bird in a blue mac sitting in the corner" when ensconced at the Groucho. In revenge for Deborah Orr's article, Burchill invented a supposedly long-standing crush on Will Self with the intention of upsetting Orr.