‘Coronation Street’ veteran Kevin Kennedy sank a bottle of vodka a day on his way to the set of the soap – before downing three bottles of wine at night and taking speed and cocaine at the peak of his drink and drugs abuse.
‘Coronation Street’ veteran Kevin Kennedy sank a bottle of vodka a day on his way to the set of the soap
The actor, famed for playing Norman ‘Curly’ Watts on the ITV show from 1983 to 2003, fought a long battle with alcoholism but has now spoken about how he is celebrating 25 years clean.
He told the Daily Mirror in an interview printed on Friday (10.02.23): “The last time I had a drink will be 25 years ago in October.
“I haven’t thought much about it as it’s never the last drink I worry about, it’s the next one.
“That’s what I’m always concentrating on. But I’ll probably raise a cup of tea in salute, because tea is the answer to everything.”
The Mirror detailed his massive previous daily drink and drugs intake in the chat, and said Kevin turned his life around after he collapsed and was rushed to hospital in May 1998.
He credits ‘Coronation Street’ bosses with saving his life after they sent him to The Priory, after which he stopped drinking and taking drugs.
Kevin added: “It wasn’t the pressure of the job that made me do what I did, I did it because I liked it and liked it so much I got addicted and couldn’t stop it.
“But playing Curly was the perfect job for an addict, because when I performing I was someone else, and he was a lovely guy who everyone loved.
“To be honest, being Curly, it was a bit of a reprieve from being me.”
Kevin, who has daughters Katie May, 19, and Grace, 16, with his wife of 27 years Clare – also a recovering addict – is now starring as the opposite of his clean-living self by playing hedonistic drug-addicted club owner Dennis Dupree in the musical ‘Rock of Ages’, now on a UK farewell tour.
He said about the part: “He’s as extreme as I used to be – he’s very hedonistic and takes a vast amount of drugs.
“But although there is a lot of ‘cocaine’ on stage and I’ve always got a bottle in my hand, it doesn’t bother me or trigger me any more.”
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