June Brown comforted John Altman when his mother died.
The former ‘EastEnders’ star has praised the elderly actress, who plays his on-screen mother Dot Cotton in the long-running BBC soap, for taking him under her wing and taking care of him after the huge loss in his life.
He said: "I love her a lot. I lost my real mother earlier this year but June is taking care of me now. Last week, I took her home [after a work event] and she made me some steak. I can’t believe she is taking care of me at the age of 89. She is extraordinary."
The 64-year-old actor has managed to quit smoking but joked long-time chain-smoker June tried to tempt him back to the cigarettes while he was on set last year.
Speaking on daytime show ‘Lorraine,’ he said: "Since I quit drink, I’ve managed to give up cigarettes too. June Brown said to me while we working on ‘EastEnders’ that I’m more tense since I quit and tried to give me a cigarette. I didn’t accept of course!"
He’s now admitted it’s been hard to ditch the booze but the 12 step recovery programme offered by Alcoholics Anonymous has been a huge help.
He said: "It can be done. It’s very hard but it can be done. It’s a huge problem for a lot of people out there – both men and women from all walks of life. A lot of people are suffering but they don’t want to admit to it.
"I still belong to a fellowship 12 step programme. If anyone needs or wants to know more about that, please feel free to contact me or my manager."
EastEnder star John Altman thanks June Brown for ‘taking care’ of him
