John Partridge: MasterChef helped him kick my cocaine habit

Former EastEnders star John Partridge has revealed signing up for Celebrity MasterChef helped him kick his cocaine habit.

The actor, 48, won the show in 2018 and said finding a passion for cooking saved him addiction.

Speaking to the Mirror, Partridge said he first went to Narcotics Anonymous when he realised he had a problem, before watching MasterChef on TV and asking his agent to sign him up.

He explained cooking became a distraction from drugs. He 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.”

Partridge played Christian Clarke in EastEnders from 2008 and 2012. Most viewers will remember him for his story line involving a gay relationship with Muslim Syed Masood.

Recalling his drug use, Partridge said: “I wasn’t a big drinker, I was a big snorter, yeah, that was my thing. The booze was really secondary, the coke was the thing that was my go to.”

After losing his mother, Bridie, to Alzheimer’s, he decided to get clean.

Partridge told the Mirror he is considering taking a step back from acting to focus on family life with Jon, who he met when he was living in Germany at the age of 32.

Additional reporting by Press Association