John Partridge has joined 'Celebrity Big Brother' to pay for his mother's Alzheimer's care.
John Partridge
The former 'EastEnders' star - who was known for playing loveable Christian Clarke in the soap - has revealed he agreed to enter this year's infamous house in order to cover the nursing home bills for his sick mum, Bridget.
He explained: "My mum has Alzheimer's, I pay for her care and it is expensive. The honest answer is I'm here to pay her bill.
"She was diagnosed in 2010. As a family we've dealt with it since then. She had to sell her home in order to pay for her care. Unfortunately she only lived in a two-up, two-down, in a Northern town, so the money doesn't go very far. She did live with us as a family, and in March [2015] we felt that we could no longer meet her needs, and she moved into a facility."
But, despite his heartbreaking reasons for entering the Channel 5 house, the handsome actor, 44, is adamant he won't let Bridget's "brutal" illness overshadow his fun.
In an interview conducted by Channel 5 before he went into the house, he said: "It's not all doom and gloom - I'm here to have some fun as well. I'm also coming in to the 'Big Brother' house to have no responsibility. Most people are like 'Urgh, they've got to take your phone away' and I'm like 'Take it! Turn it off!' ... I find the whole thing quite liberating."
John joined the house last night (05.01.16) alongside the likes of former 'The Only Way is Essex' loudmouth Gemma Collins, ex-'EastEnders' star Danniella Westbrook, and Kim Kardashian West's best friend Jonathan Cheban.
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