John Partridge has opened up about how taking part in Celebrity MasterChef played an unexpected role in helping him overcome his cocaine addiction, after he discovered a new focus in cooking.
The former EastEnders actor, 48, went on to win the 2018 series of the BBC cooking competition and has said that spending time in the kitchen helped him break old patterns.
In an interview with The Mirror, John explained that he initially attended Narcotics Anonymous meetings, but later stepped away from them and asked his agent to put him forward for MasterChef.
Turning point: John Partridge, 48, has revealed that joining Celebrity MasterChef helped him tackle his cocaine addiction by giving him a passion for cooking (pictured in December 2019)
Looking back on how food became a way to redirect his energy after he joined the programme, John said: ‘Every day for the next three weeks I’d go to the supermarket instead of going to NA.
‘When it came to that time in the evening – the witching hour – when my husband, Jon, would go to work and I’d be here alone I’d start to get twitchy fingers. So, I’d buy random ingredients and cook. That was how it started.’
The actor said he had previously used drugs after work as a form of “reward”, and that his addiction worsened following the death of his mother, Bridget, who died aged 80 after living with dementia and Alzheimer’s.
The soap star said there was no dramatic emotional breakdown when he chose to stop using drugs; instead, in October 2017, he simply reached out to a friend for support after realising he needed to change his life.
Champion: The former EastEnders star was crowned the winner of the 2018 series of the cooking show and revealed getting into the kitchen helped him to change his habit
John told how his partying began as a teenager when he started to dabble in recreational drug use.
The actor attended Narcotics Anonymous meetings for three weeks before deciding it was not for him.
It was then he watched MasterChef on TV and got himself onto the next celebrity series of the show.
He said: ‘Cooking food from my past helped me reconnect with my present – it reconnected me with that little boy. When I lifted the trophy it was really emotional, because I was having all these revelations about myself and remembering. I suddenly appreciated all of it.’
Getting help: John said he first went to Narcotics Anonymous meetings which he eventually left and then asked his agent to sign him up for MasterChef
John admitted he was never entirely dependent on alcohol but did have a reliance on cocaine.
The actor, who described cooking as an act of self-care, has parlayed the skills he learned on MasterChef into writing his new book, There’s No Taste Like Home.
John is best known for his role as Christian Clarke on EastEnders which he played from 2008 to 2012 and again in 2014 to 2016.
The TV star said he loved his time on the show and made lifelong friends with some of his co-stars.
Family: John said his addiction got out of control after the death of mother Bridget, aged 80, in October 2017 from dementia and Alzheimer’s
However, the former Celebrity Big Brother star has no plans to return to the soap anytime soon as he is thinking about taking a break from acting.
John said he wants to focus on spending time with his husband Jon Tsouras with the couple thinking about fostering children.
Asked if he ever misses his party days, the actor said he misses the social aspect of it, but not the feeling he would have the morning after.
Forthright as ever, John said you don’t see 70-year-old cocaine addicts, adding that was not the path he wanted to go down for the rest of his life.
Role: John is best known for his role as Christian Clarke on EastEnders which he played from 2008 to 2012 and again in 2014 to 2016
