Former Eastenders actor John Partridge has expressed that his participation in MasterChef was a turning point that helped him recover from a period of alcohol and drug use after the passing of his mother.

The 47-year-old, who emerged victorious in the BBC cooking show, outshining reality star Spencer Matthews and former rugby player Martin Bayfield in the final aired on Friday night, shared that the experience was pivotal in overcoming his personal challenges.

During his appearance on Loose Women on Monday, he mentioned that the date of the final held significant importance to him, stating: ‘It was an incredible journey from start to finish.

‘My mum passed away on April 13 2017 and I won MasterChef on April 13 2018… so when I went in for that final cook, I definitely had an angel on my shoulder.

‘I took her wooden spoon with me and I know she was there stirring that custard. It was a monumental thing.’

John, who was known for his party boy ways while starring as Christian Clarke in EastEnders, told the Loose Women panel he’s now been sober for one year.

‘I’m one year sober today,’ he explained. ‘For the first two weeks, I would just go to a supermarket, I’d buy ingredients and I’d come home and cook to distract myself.

‘I said, I want to do that programme […] I was doing The Real Full Monty and MasterChef at the same time and I just started talking. 

‘That’s all it was. I talked about having cancer and just the talking about it, what I’m so grateful [about is] that they allowed me to continue that conversation [on MasterChef]. They allowed me through the programme to keep talking.’

On why he had struggled to speak up before. the Celebrity Big Brother star said: ‘I was embarrassed and ashamed. I haven’t worked it out yet.’

He added: ‘I went to NA [Narcotics Anonymous] for, not for long, but they deal with everything.  

‘I wasn’t just drinking, I was using drugs as well. I didn’t go for very long because I couldn’t find a way to speak in there. I was embarrassed, I couldn’t find the words to share there.

‘I was embarrassed that I couldn’t handle it. I was embarrassed that I couldn’t find a way to be cool with it all. On the surface, people thought I was cool with it all.’ 

He continued: ‘When I started cooking through the show, cooking the food from my past has helped me living in the present. 

‘Going back and remembering that cheese and onion pie with my mum and that custard tart and that black pudding… I’m so grateful for it.’    

Speaking of his partying days, the theatre star said: ‘There are many times in life when you could say I hit rock bottom but I sort of just rolled. 

‘I was quite a happy drunk, I wasn’t mean, it just went on too long. Lots of the time me and Jon [Tsouras, who he has been in a civil partnership with since 2011] weren’t together, but Jon’s kind of sober now too.

‘I was so anxious, I was so afraid. Any form of addiction is about not wanting to feel, actually wanting to feel anything but yourself Me stopping that was my first step in allowing that.’

During a candid scene that aired on Friday’s Celebrity MasterChef final, the star admitted that his addiction occurred after his mother tragically passed away after battling Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. 

Breaking down in tears, he said: ‘Mum had Alzheimer’s, it was rough. It had a profound effect on me. 

‘I will carry that with me my entire life. Mum passed away and I completely broke down. My life was rapidly spinning out of control with substance abuse and alcohol. 

‘I would get up and go to the supermarket, I would buy groceries and I would stand here and cook all day. 

‘So I didn’t have a minute in the day to think about something else.  That’s what cooking did for me. I’ve been clean for seven months, sober 185 days and it’s amazing.’