EastEnders legend John Altman confused by Nick Cotton and Lofty Holloway gay couple twist idea
EastEnders legend John Altman revealed he opposed a rumoured 1980s storyline - allegedly backed by co-creator Julia Smith - that would have turned sworn enemies Nick Cotton and Lofty Holloway into a gay couple.
John Altman was puzzled over the idea that EastEnders bosses wanted to make sworn enemies Nick Cotton and Lofty Holloway a gay couple.
Rumours swirled in the 1980s that bad boy Nick may put his bullying days with loveable loser Lofty (Tom Watt) to bed and randomly strike up a romance with him.
But John, 74, immediately declared it a bad decision to the BBC soap's late co-creator, Julia Smith, as the characters were not gay in the first place, and that it would mean Nick would no longer be the iconic show villain.
John recalled on the May 8 episode of Simon Gross' Get Gossy With Grossy podcast: "A rumour was going around the studio that they were going to make Nick Cotton and Lofty a gay couple.
"We'd been in the show two or three years. We weren't gay in any way - in fact, Nick used to bully Lofty. So lovable, Lofty, nasty Nick were going to become a gay couple, a couple that shack up together, just out of the blue.
"It was like, 'What's that all about?'"
Big Brother 2015 housemate Simon asked John if it was "writers or executives" that thought of the idea, to which the star replied: "I don't know. Maybe Julia and Tony came up with this idea."
John was quick to quiz Julia about it amid speculation around Elstree Studios, where EastEnders is shot.
The actor told her: "'I heard this rumour going around, Julia, that you're going to make Nick and Lofty a gay couple. To be honest, I don't think it's a very good idea, because they were never gay in the first place.'"
And Julia had a brutal response, as John shared: "She turned to her script writer and said, Write him out."
In 2019, John exclusively told BANG Showbiz the supposed gay storyline between Nick and Lofty - who departed Walford in 1988, meaning the idea for him and Nick would have been planned in the late 1980s.
And John added that he did not think the public "would’ve wanted” the storyline.
The star's initial exit was due to Julia's demand, but following her and the soap's other co-creator, the late Tony Holland's departure from EastEnders in 1989, Nasty Nick made multiple brief comebacks until the Albert Square villain died in February 2015.
John Altman's episode of Get Gossy With Grossy drops on May 8 on all major podcast streaming services.
Head to former Big Brother contestant Simon's Instagram account (@SimonGrossShowbiz) for more entertainment news and gossip.
