EastEnders legend John Altman was 'arrested a few times' as rebellious teenager in drugs raid
EastEnders legend John Altman also revealed how his rebellious youth, time around London's darker side and the people he encountered helped shape his infamous BBC soap villain, Nasty Nick Cotton.
EastEnders legend John Altman was "arrested a few times" as a rebellious teenager after being caught in a drugs raid.
The 74-year-old actor - who went on to become the BBC soap's infamous Nasty Nick Cotton - had his own rebellious streak and drew on his "dark side" and life experiences to shape the villainous character.
During TV presenter Hayley Palmer's An Audience With... John Altman show at London's The Hippodrome Casino on Sunday night (23.08.26), attended by BANG Showbiz, the host asked if he was "a bit of a rebel" as a teenager.
The soap legend replied: "Yeah, I guess so. I got arrested a few times. It was in the squat in Canterbury. I went over there to buy some gear, you know.
"I ended up in this squat, and the local police inspector of the drug squad in Canterbury arrested everyone, nearly all the young people in Canterbury who were smoking joints at that time back in the late ’60s.
"I woke up with a policeman shining a torch in my face. I just bought a little bit and had a little smoke, you know. So that wasn't much good.
"I always liked people who were, I think, on the dark side, I guess. I was fascinated by the rebels on the screen, like Jimmy Dean and all those people, Paul Newman, Jimi Hendrix."
John later explained that he drew on his "dark side" and the people he encountered while living in London to help shape his evil EastEnders alter ego, Nasty Nick.
Asked if he based the character on a particular person or a group of people, John said: "I think no matter who we are, even if you're a priest or a nun, I hope they don’t mind me saying that, we do have a dark side. If I'm going to be honest, we all have a dark side, don't we?"
Quizzed if that meant he based Nick a little bit on his younger self, the entertainer replied: "Well, a bit of that, maybe.
"The experience that I've had over the years because I was into my 30s. I spent a bit of time around London, Ladbroke Grove, Notting Hill Gate, so I had lived and travelled the world a bit.
"So someone on my dark side, and then I remembered a few people that I'd met along the way, say down Portobello Road way.
"And, also, ultimately, the writing was so good. It was there. And then as time went on, I put my own few words in there sometimes, even if there wasn't a line, I'd put it in because I know that Nick would have said that."
John also recalled how he and the late June Brown (Dot Branning) worked closely on their scripts to ensure Dot and Nick stayed true to their mom and son characters.
He remembered: "June and I used to work on the scripts quite closely together. Sometimes we'd cut this out and say, ‘Oh, Nick wouldn't say that. Dot wouldn't say that.’ So as long as we got it to the script team in time, we’d get it exactly right.
"Just a simple example would be Nick walking across the square whilst a couple are kissing on the bench. Just a shot of Nick walking across the square. So what I thought I'd do was, they’re having a lovely snog and a cuddle on the bench. I sort of went up behind them and leered at them, and I went, ‘Disgusting!’
"So I just put that in, and they let me do it because that's the sort of thing Nick would’ve done."
Nick Cotton first appeared in EastEnders' very first episode on February 19, 1985 and was killed off 30 years later.
For more An Audience With... show announcements, keep an eye on Hayley Palmer's social media accounts.
