The former EastEnders star John Partridge, who won Celebrity MasterChef in 2018, says cooking has saved his life.
The 48-year-old has been batch-cooking ever since he won Celebrity MasterChef. He has also written a cookbook.
John has now revealed how being in the kitchen saved him from addiction and early death.
After moving away from his home in Radcliffe, Manchester when he was nine to attend the Royal Ballet School, things started changing for bad.
When he was 17, he started clubbing, partying, and taking drugs.
John said: “I was never one of those people who needed a drink to go to bed or a line of coke to get up and I never used at work.”
“But when the day was done I’d reward myself. I’d do that whether it was good or bad. That’s how it got out of control.”
Six months after losing his mother, Bridget in 2017, John decided to change.
He went to Narcotics Anonymous meetings for three weeks but thought it wasn’t for him because he hadn’t been to prison or rehab, or stealing from people to pay for drugs.
One day, when he watched Celebrity MasterChef, he decided to do it.
He went on to win Celebrity MasterChef in 2018 and cooking and being in the kitchen really helped him.
He says preparing a meal is an act of self-care and it has saved his life from addiction and potentially an early death.
He has now been batch-cooking every week and loves being in the kitchen. John met Jon in Germany when he was 32 and they are now planning to become foster parents.
John says: “My food story is still far from over, so that’s something I’m keen to develop. Me and Jon would also look to foster perhaps older kids.”
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