John Altman is best known for playing ‘Nasty’ Nick Cotton, the most iconic villain to appear on EastEnders, across 30 years.
When asked about fans’ fears for the future of the soap amid BBC budget cuts, John tells us: “Corrie has lasted 70 years so maybe EastEnders will last, but there’s only so much you can repeat. Only so many burglaries and murders and fires.”
“I preferred it when they had a smaller cast,” he adds. “Then you get to know the characters better. I hope it will be around in another 40 years for the sake of the actors. They’ve just rebuilt the set so I guess they’ve got no choice right now.”
From the very beginning, Nick Cotton was a villain. By the time he was killed off Nick had murdered four people and attempted to kill 12 more, one of which was his mum, Dot, played by the iconic June Brown.
June died in April 2022 aged 95. John chokes up as he talks about his final days with her. “Towards the end of her life, I felt really honoured that she allowed me to be one of the few of people who could go and see her as she was fading away.
“I held her hand and had a chat with her. She was still having a puff on a cigarette,” he laughs. “She was an absolutely incredible person to be around and she would wear herself out trying to be so kind to everyone. Thinking about her makes me quite emotional actually.”
He adds that filming soaps were hard, as you would be filming back-to-back scenes. It was especially hard when playing someone like Nick, as John had to go to a “really dark place” to get into character.
Since leaving EastEnders, John has pursued a music career, recently releasing a song called Sat Nav Girl. He has also written a book about his experiences, many of which involve iconic musicians such as Jimi Hendrix.
John met Jimi as a schoolboy in London, winding up in the star’s dressing room after a show. “Jimi had a warmth about him and was quite a character. He filmed everything, which was just as colourful as his music, and had a dry sense of humor.
“It was a tragedy he died so young. It was a mistake, it was just awful. His legacy will never be forgotten.”
John’s single “Sat Nav Girl” co-written with Mark Christopher Lee of The Pocket Gods, is available to download now.
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