Tony Audenshaw used to sleep in his car during trips to Surrey in the 1980s because he couldn’t afford a bed and breakfast stay.
The ‘Emmerdale’ actor had to get some shut-eye in his motor when he headed down south to work at Thorpe Park, a theme park based in the south east of England, because he didn’t want to stump up £70 per night for a bed and breakfast or a hotel.
Tony’s – whose latest soap storyline sees his alter-ego Bob Hope left homeless – said: "I used to work at Thorpe Park, the theme park, I use do the Thorpe Park Rangers and do all the voices.
"Up north things are much cheaper and I came down here in the 80s, and it was £70 for a B&B.
"So if I was down for five nights I would sleep in the car a couple of nights, because we didn’t have much money coming in.
"I’d never do it two nights on the trot because you couldn’t really function well.
"But yeah, it was Monday in a B&B, Tuesday in the car – the things you saw in those car parks, torches in the window."
And Tony admits Bob’s plight, which saw him spend a night in the Woolpack cellar before nearly being caught, "can happen to anybody".
Speaking on ‘Loose Women’, he added: "It just shows you that this sort of thing can happen to anybody.
"Bob had an affair and he feels guilty for what he did, and because of that he doesn’t want to ask for help.
"He’s very proud and he’s got himself in this situation where he’s got no money, and because she’s such a happy go lucky character everybody thinks he’s OK and that he’s coping. And of course, he isn’t."
Tony Audenshaw slept in his car during Surrey trips to avoid hotel costs
