'My mum passed away with zero in her bank account': John Partridge reveals the high cost of care

john partridge

Ex EastEnders star John Partridge is mourning his mother and also coming to terms with the enormous cost of caring for her late in her life

Former EastEnders star John Partridge has revealed his mother died with nothing in her bank account because of the cost of care home fees, just a year after he took part in Celebrity Big Brother to help pay for her medical bills.

The soap star, who played Christian Clarke on the BBC show, revealed she died three weeks ago after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and dementia in 2010.

He told Good Morning Britain he looked after his mother Bridget for years at home because of the expense of care, but the costs still racked up.

He said: “We still had to have nurses that came in, there were still costs involved in that, then when we as a family felt we were not equipped medically to deal with her condition – my sister and I both work – we had to find her a placement.

“The only place we felt was fitting for her cost that amount of money and we saw a lot of places.”

Celebrity Big Brother contestant John Partridge

John Partridge (Jonathan Ford/Channel 5)

 

He added: “Care is incredibly expensive, I don’t come from money. My mum had a two-up, two-down in Manchester which we sold for £75,000 and that was in 2010, so then what do you do? How do you pay those care costs? It was £45,000 a year, how do you pay for that?

“It was devastating, mum worked so hard every day of her life, what she had was to leave to her grandchildren, that was all she had.

“My mum passed away three weeks ago with zero in her bank account.”

Celebrity Big Brother's Angie, John Partridge and David Gest

In the CBB house, left, with David Gest and Angie Bowie (Channel 5)

 

John has previously said he entered the Celebrity Big Brother house in January 2016 to help pay his mother’s care expenses.

He came sixth and the series was won by Ex On The Beach star Stephen Bear.

 

PA Media is the national news agency for the UK and Ireland. With unrivalled access to the performers, productions and celebrities on both sides of the Atlantic, PA Media stories provide an irresistible glimpse into showbiz news. Bringing you all of entertainment's big moments. From daily soaps to film productions, we cover the shows that audiences want to know about with our previews, news and interviews.