EastEnders legend John Altman feared for his safety after playing 'monster' Nasty Nick Cotton
John Altman is best known for his infamous EastEnders character Nasty Nick Cotton, who storylines included murder, drug dealing and racism.
EastEnders legend John Altman feared for his safety after playing Nasty Nick Cotton on the BBC soap.
The 74-year-old actor wondered what "monster" he had created after playing the murderous, drug-dealing and racist villain, admitting he was concerned about how he would be treated by people in the real world.
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, John added: "I was a bit worried about going out after. I thought, ‘What's this monster that I've created? Will I be able to kind of mix with people from the other communities and all that sort of thing?’"
Asked if people took out their rage about Nick on him, he replied: "No. Luckily. Mind you, you have to be sensible. I didn't go down the local pub at closing time or down in the Docklands or wherever. So I think I probably chose where I was going to be."
John said there was "no preparation" for the huge level of fame that came with EastEnders, with some of his younger co-stars struggling to cope.
He said: "Nobody really told you what you were going to go through, really. There was no preparation for it.
"And for some of the younger actors in the show, it was quite difficult, like dear David Scarboro, the first Mark Fowler, who we very tragically lost. He really couldn't handle it.
"I thought he was a really good actor. I used to try and take care of him and took him under my wing for a while.
"But as you may know, he took his own life on Beachy Head because the pressure of it all - it just got to him in the end. He really looked like a rebel without a cause, and he almost lived that."
John first realised how recognisable he had become when a stranger approached him in a supermarket.
The entertainer recalled: "I went down to my local supermarket, and someone said, ‘Oh, hello, Nick.’ I thought, ‘You idiot, my name is John. You see it on the screen. John Altman - Nick Cotton.'
"So nobody tells you you're going to get this, so I had to learn to put up with that."
Even 11 years after Nick was killed off, John still gets recognised by members of the public.
He said: "People lean out of cars going, ‘Ere, is it you off the telly?'"
John also shared the moment he realised EastEnders changed his life after spotting himself on a bank of TV screens in a shop window.
He remembered: "It sort of hit me when I was living in Chelsea still. And I ran past this TV shop with a whole bank of tellies in the window, and the EastEnders omnibus was on.
"And suddenly I looked in the window, and there I was through the window of a TV shop. I was like, 'Oh, this is quite bizarre. Things are going to change a bit around here.'
"And they did change."
John thinks his age may have helped him cope with the fame.
He explained: "But luckily, because I was in my early 30s, I lied about my age at the audition. I was supposed to be about 22/23, I think. But luckily, I got away with that because I was a bit more mature than, say, dear David; I think I managed to handle it."
